


Waiting for a Miracle

by Apathetic_Abstract_Apotheosis



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Asperger Syndrome, Autism Spectrum, Bisexual Female Character, Chloé Bourgeois Redemption, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Internalized Homophobia, Lesbian Character, Pining, Spoilers for Episode: Miracle Queen, Trans Female Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-26
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-01-03 16:31:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 107,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21182519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Apathetic_Abstract_Apotheosis/pseuds/Apathetic_Abstract_Apotheosis
Summary: Chloé could only watch helplessly as Miracle Queen ordered the enthralled miraculous wielders to transform. How had it all come to this? How could she have sunk so low and betrayed the one person she loved more than anything else. All Chloé could do was weep silently, unable to even shed a tear, trapped as she was, no one hearing her litany of apologies.“Marinette, my love. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”





	1. Chapter 1

Chloé could only watch helplessly as Miracle Queen ordered the enthralled miraculous wielders to transform. How had it all come to this? How could she have sunk so low and betrayed the one person she loved more than anything else. All Chloé could do was weep silently, unable to even shed a tear, trapped as she was, no one hearing her litany of apologies.

“Marinette, my love. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

* * *

It took three tries to silence her phone’s alarm, the third blind swipe finally shutting off the incessant beeping. Groaning, Chloé double-checked the time to see that it was indeed 7:30, an utterly ridiculous time to get up at. Pausing for a moment to admire the photo of her and Ladybug during the Heroes’ day fiasco she’d set as her lockscreen, she finally decided it was worth getting up.

The new school year had only started that week and, despite her hatred for the place, she didn’t want to be late and risk the wrath of Mme Bustier. It was only for one more year though, she reassured herself as she flopped out of bed and trudged over to the bathroom. Humming quietly to herself, she turned on the shower and waited for it to reach the correct temperature whilst she retrieved her various soaps and cleansers, lining them up neatly beside the tub in the order they would be used in. Everything in its place.

Checking that the temperature was acceptable, she shed her nightgown and hopped in, taking a moment to luxuriate in the wonderful pressure cascading down on her. It was sad she couldn’t afford to spend more than ten minutes in the shower though as she quickly and efficiently applied the various products. Checking on the clock she insisted upon having installed, she was pleased to note she was actually two minutes ahead of schedule. Plenty of time to replace her shower supplies in their correct place before finishing up, rather than rely on the maids when they did their rounds later.

Emerging from the steamy bathroom wrapped in a fluffy white towel, Chloé examined the outfit she’d laid out last night. Nothing overly fancy, collège wasn’t worth that much effort, but she could hardly go looking like she’d gotten her clothes from a thrift store. People might get ideas, and things got so disorderly when they got ideas and tried to break the status quo she had painstakingly installed.

Why couldn’t they realise it was for their own good? She huffed angrily. This was perfect, now she was annoyed and her good mood at being on schedule was ruined.

“Ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous.” She muttered to no-one before she caught herself and hissed in frustration. She was supposed to be using the new year as a chance to start somewhat fresh. She’d heard somewhere it was bad luck to leave things with bad feelings, and it was the last year of collège. It wouldn’t hurt to give her classmates a slightly better impression of herself before they left and she never had to see their sorry faces again.

Finishing towelling off, she set the damp towel neatly aside and started getting dressed. If she’d had the time, she’d have liked to let her hair air dry. Sadly, she did not, and was forced to sit at her vanity blow drying the blonde strands for ten minutes, running a comb through as she went. Once satisfied her hair was sufficiently dry, she set about preparing her face and priming it, the routine soothing her earlier irritation. Everything in its place and neatly ordered.

Foundation and concealer applied, she got to work on her eyeshadow whilst she went over the day’s schedule in her head. First period was with Mme Bustier, which meant she had the absolute joy of having to be in the same room as Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Of all the people to flout her authority and the beautiful orderly system she put in place, she was the worst.

Sniffing angrily as she did her eyeliner, drawing two perfectly symmetrical wings, she thought of just how much of a waste of potential Marinette was. If she just stayed in her lane and understood Chloé was always destined to be on top, they could even have been friends. Well, as much as their class difference could allow for anyway. It was the same reason the girl’s ill-fated crush on Adrien was doomed to failure. People like Marinette weren’t meant for people like Adrien or Chloé, no matter how gorgeous or beautifully blue their eyes were. They were different classes and both girls, that was that nothing could disrupt their order.

Chloé froze just as she was about to apply her lip gloss. she’d done it again. She would have buried her face in her hands if she wasn’t afraid of ruining her makeup. She hated that her mother’s rhetoric melded so neatly with her love of neatness and order. This was exactly what she was trying to get away from with her fresh start.

Maybe it was too late for her. Change was hard and it took so much effort. Her discouragement lasted only a moment though, because she was Chloé freaking Bourgeois, and she wasn’t going to let anything stop her.

Reinvigorated, she finished applying her lip gloss and pulled her hair back into its customary ponytail. Almost ready to face the world, she retrieved her sunglasses from their resting place on the vanity and perched them atop her head, slipping on her pumps as she did so. Checking her appearance one last time in her mirror, she grabbed her bag and swept out of the room.

Stepping out of the lift into the lobby, she was gratified to receive multiple polite ‘Good morning Ms Bourgeois’ from the various staff scattered throughout the room, each of which she acknowledged with an imperious nod. Her mother would disapprove of course, which was precisely why she did it.

A great deal of her mother’s lustre had been lost after that disastrous fashion show several months ago. The rose-tinted view of her brought by distance and hazy memories ripped away and, even worse, she recognised herself in her mother and that was something she could no longer abide. Chloé Bourgeois was no cheap knock-off and had no desire to be as hated as her mother was any longer. Being a hero meant being better, and Queen Bee would be the best of them all.

Still, appearances must be maintained, so she did not greet her driver as he opened the door of her limo for her, instead settling for a polite smile as she climbed in and checked her phone. Still on schedule, perhaps this morning could still be salvaged despite the unpleasant thoughts from earlier.

The rise into school was thankfully uneventful, she’d built in time for traffic, but it had been mercifully light this morning so she had plenty of time to spare as she trotted up the stairs and into the classroom, where she was met with a horrifying sight.

Several of her classmates had switched seats!

She could feel her eye beginning to twitch. No this was not right this was not orderly. Lahiffe and Césaire were sat next to each other, so they’d talk all lesson. And what was Adrien doing sat all alone at the front? And perhaps the most burning question, where was Marinette Dupain-Cheng sitting?

Thankfully, Sabrina still sat in the same spot and Chloé’s seat was unoccupied. Doing her best to maintain her cool at the disorder, Chloé walked over to her seat and sat down, not taking out her supplies yet and turned to Sabrina instead.

“Why has everybody moved?” She gritted out, still trying desperately to maintain her composure. New start, think of the new start.

“Oh, well since she has hearing problems, we decided it was best for her to sit at the front. So then Alya wanted to sit by Nino and Ivan by Mylène and now here we are. I tried to keep the disruption to a minimum and refused to have our seats moved so you wouldn’t have to worry about that.” Chloé let out a deep sigh. It was sweet that Sabrina had tried to stop this madness and was accommodating to some of Chloé’s… peculiarities. But there was still something that was bugging her.

“Who is ‘she’?” A dark thought crossed her mind, what if it was Marinette?

“Oh, Lila of course! She’s back from her trip to Achu!” Sabrina grinned happily and Chloé frowned. That wasn’t the worst-case scenario at least.

“That girl who joined he school last year then got embarrassed or something and became a shut-in?” She asked for confirmation and partly to see what her reaction was.

“Shut-in? What do you mean?” Sabrina cocked her head in puppy-like confusion.

“That’s where she was all year? It’s not like she was at collège.” Chloé explained patiently, sincerely hoping she wouldn’t have to explain every last detail to her friend.

“No, no. She was in Achu visiting Prince Ali last year, remember? She skyped in on Heroes’ Day.” The blonde couldn’t help but snort in derision.

“Please, did you see the décor of that room? Drab Parisian wallpaper if ever I’ve seen any.”

“Oh, Lila said that’s because Prince Ali wanted to make her feel at home whilst she was visiting!” Dear God, it was even worse now. If Sabrina believed a lie as painfully bad as that, what else would she believe? And even worse, what would the rest of the class believe? She’d always believed Sabrina to be one of the more level-headed members of the class, but if she was taken in by this. Chloé did not have high hopes for what was to come.

She was saved from stewing, however, by a fresh annoyance in the form of Marinette Dupain-Cheng bursting into the room, croissant stuffed in her mouth and very nearly late. Chloé glared at the girl as she took in the new seating arrangement. It ground her gears so much that Marinette was so consistently late. She lived just across the road from the collège! What was the point in having a schedule if you couldn’t keep to it?

If only she’d let Chloé take charge and spend some time with her, her life would be so much simpler and more organised. Then she could sort out her wardrobe whilst she was at it. The girl was a talented designer, yet never seemed to wear any of her own designs, which was a shame since Chloé knew she’d look stunning if she put some effort in. Especially if she fixed up her makeup too, perhaps a nice coral pink for her lips.

She stifled her cry of pain as she pinched herself hard to shock herself out of whatever weird train of thought she gotten aboard. It was made a lot easier to distance herself from where her thoughts had been leaving her as she watched Marinette start motormouthing to Césaire about Adrien, presumably thinking the empty seat beside him was for her.

Well, she was about to be disabused of that notion as Chloé noticed Mme Bustier approaching the classroom door accompanied by a familiar head of brown hair. She watched Marinette spin around as the pair entered the room, Mme Bustier already talking.

“Good morning, students. I’m sure you’ve all heard by now, Lila has come home from her trip to Achu and is rejoining our class.” Evidently Marinette had not heard yet, and Chloé was treated to the rare sight of a completely dumbfounded Marinette.

“Hi everyone!” Lila chirped in an infuriatingly cheery tone, far too cheery for 8:15 in the morning. The rest of the class, except for Chloé and Marinette, answered in kind, Sabrina giving Chloé a look after. “Oh, and you saved me a seat in the front! You remembered my hearing issue, you’re all such sweethearts!” Chloé couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the over-the-top blowing of kisses. Seriously, this girl made her gag. How were the rest of the class buying this?

“You have a hearing problem, Lila?” Perhaps not all of them. Chloé raised an eyebrow as Marinette questioned her. Perhaps the bakery girl was less dim that she immediately appeared. Then again Chloé was perfectly aware of just how smart Marinette could be if applied herself instead of mooning over Adrien.

“Yes, I have tinnitus in my left ear. I’ve had it ever since I rescued Jagged Stone’s lost kitten on a runway and an aeroplane engine burst my eardrum.”

“Isn’t Jagged Stone’s pet a crocodile?” Chloé watched in fascination as Marinette pulled on the loose thread of the lie, wondering where this would lead.

“Now it is, yes. But he had a kitten before he discovered he was allergic.” Lila covered smoothly, and honestly it was the most plausible thing that had come out of Lila’s mouth so far. Chloé tuned out again as Lila started fawning over Adrien. That was no real concern of hers, she trusted Adrien to have the brains to see through the girl’s lies. Sweet and trusting he may be, but he wasn’t a fool and could be annoyingly perceptive at times.

She perked up again at the sound of distress in Lila’s voice. Hoping the irritating brat had been caught in a lie, she returned her attention to the conversation.

“My return is causing so much trouble. Maybe I should have just stayed on the other side of the world.” For a terrible liar, the girl did know how to act, Chloé almost believed she was on the verge of tears. “If Marinette has an issue too, I should be the one to sit at the back, she was here first after all. It’s okay, I’ll be fine.” Chloé scowled as the rest of the class turned to Marinette with looks of varying amounts of anger and shame.

After a moment, she wilted under the pressure and muttered an apology, trudging up the stairs and to the back of the class and further disrupting Chloé’s carefully constructed order. For a brief moment, she considered intervening on Marinette’s behalf. But after how the rest of the class reacted to the resident class angel being mean to Lila, she’d have no chance.

Still, it comforted her a little that there was someone else who saw through Lila’s lies. A comfort that was promptly crushed as she remembered that Marinette hated her and she didn’t like Marinette. Scowling, she flipped her book open to page 23 as instructed and tried to focus on the lesson.

* * *

The rest of the lessons passed without much difference. Teachers droned on whilst Chloé sat bored out of her mind. She’d already studied what they were covering, she was three weeks ahead on the material. Lunch wasn’t an improvement as she lost Sabrina to the interloper. She sat at her usual table, stabbing moodily at her food (served in threes rather than fours ugh) and watched as several students waited on Lila hand and foot.

Not even she’d been that bad. Admittedly she’d often had Sabrina fetch her lunch for her, but she’d never commanded the sycophantic attentions of quite as many students. And all it seemed to take was a sob story about a sprained wrist. She snorted into her plate of bland, uneven food. First tinnitus, now a sprained wrist, was there a part of her that wasn’t injured?

Her attention was drawn away from the preening girl by a flurry of motion as Marinette dragged Césaire and Lahiffe over to a separate table and engaged them in a quiet but heated conversation. They were too far away for Chloé to hear properly, but given the dark looks Marinette was shooting at Lila she could guess. There was a stab of something in her chest, though she wasn’t sure what it was, as she recalled it used to be only her who received that attention from Marinette.

Her musings were interrupted by Marinette raising her voice and jumping to her feet. “Hey, Lila! You forgot your napkin.” And with that, she hurled a balled up napkin at Lila, who reached up and caught it before it hit her face with her supposedly sprained hand.

Now it had to be obvious Lila was lying now and Marinette seemed to think so as she whooped with glee. “Ha, See! It’s obvious she doesn’t have a sprained wrist.” She crowed and Chloé gloated silently. Now she could restore a proper order to the seating arrangement. What she hadn’t counted on was Lila’s ability to improvise.

“Ow, ow, ow!” She clutched at her wrist theatrically. “Once when I was in India, I trained with a man who would throw dangerous things at me unexpectedly. I was afraid Max would be hurt. Ow.” No. no, no, no. No! This was not happening. It was a napkin, everyone could tell it wasn’t some dangerous object. It was possibly the stupidest thing she’d heard and it was immediately topped by Max proclaiming:

“Wow, Lila! You did that for me!” Nobody noticed as Chloé started bashing her head repeatedly against the table, they were all too busy fawning over Lila.

“Of course I did. We're friends, right? Ow.” She grimaced in mock pain up at the boy whilst the rest turned on Marinette.

“I hope you’re proud of yourself, now we’ll have to take Lila to the nurse’s office.” Mylène accused Marinette, who looked ready to explode. Lila meanwhile hurriedly waved off the people attempting to lead her away to see the nurse and jumping into the dressing down.

“No, no. Please don’t blame Marinette. She was just trying to give me a napkin, right?” She fluttered her eyelashes at the fuming girl, who proceeded to storm off angrily, leaving everyone else in shock.

“I’d better see what’s wrong with her.” Lila excused herself from the group and hurried after Marinette, no doubt to torment her further. Chloé was tempted to follow, but reasoned out that her presence wouldn’t help matters. And besides, Marinette was tough. Satisfied with her logic, Chloé returned to her incredibly disappointing meal.

* * *

So maybe her logic wasn’t quite flawless as she’d thought, as there’s been an Akuma not too long after Marinette had taken off. That said, it hadn’t been established just who had been akumatised, not helped by the fact it had been a shapeshifting Akuma. All they did know was that the Akuma had kidnapped Lila, forcing Ladybug to rescue her. Given that there had been no reported hostages, Chloé had a sneaking suspicion it had been Lila herself who was the Akuma.

The lunch period was ending soon and Chloé was busy lurking beneath the stairs as Lila regaled the rest of the class with the story of her ‘rescue’.

“Of course Ladybug saved me. She’d never let one of her best friends down!” She crowed to the assembled students who listened with rapturous attention.

“Didn’t your tinnitus give you awful vertigo going up the Eiffel tower?” Chloé was surprised that Max of all people was applying some sense to the story. Then again, he was probably just concerned for his ‘friend’.

“Oh, well because Ladybug’s such a good friend, she brought and earplug for my right ear.”

Wait. Did she say right ear? This morning it had been the left! Now Chloé was mad. She could just about tolerate the disruption to the order of her classroom and how Lila drew the rest of the class to her with her lies, but that she couldn’t even keep her own lies in order really pissed her off. She was about to go intervene when she heard someone stomping down the stairs and a familiar voice fuming.

“I’ve got her now.” Chloé retreated as Marinette stomped forward but was halted by Adrien.

“You going to call her out?” He asked, neither of them noticing the lurking blonde.

“Of course I am she’s-.”

“A liar, I know.” Adrien interrupted and Chloé was pleased her faith in Adrien wasn’t misplaced. “But do you really think exposing her will make things better?” And suddenly all that faith drained away. “If you humiliate her, she’ll hurt more. Making bad guys suffer never turns them into good guys.”

’Or maybe the punishment of suffering would discourage them from being bad guys again.’ Chloé fumed silently at her best friend’s passivity.

“So we just let her get away with it then?” Marinette asked, though she already sounded swayed by Adrien’s argument, not doubt the influence of that dumb crush of hers. Why couldn’t Marinette have picked someone more rational like she was?

“As long as we know the truth, does it really matter?” Chloé had to dig her nails into her thigh to stop herself from popping out from behind them and screaming that ‘Yes, it does matter because our classmates don’t know and maybe Lila’s next lie might get someone hurt.’

“I… guess you’re right. Maybe it isn’t such a big deal.” There was still doubt in Marinette’s voice, but her agreement with Adrien was all Chloé needed to hear. If all it took for evil to triumph was for good people to do nothing. It was a good thing Chloé was a hero now.

* * *

Miraculously, through a strange turn of events including another truly abysmal lie from Lila, the classroom’s seating positions were restored and now Chloé could relax and not be constantly on edge over the disorder.

She watched from the front door as Lila approached Marinette outside the collège and whispered something in her ear, no doubt some threat. It was quite amusing to watch as Marinette was completely unaffected, strolling away and leaving Lila gaping for a moment before storming off in the opposite direction.

Now was Chloé’s chance. Quickly she strode after Lila, catching up to the lying little brat.

“Hey Lila, mind if we have a quick chat? One well-connected girl to another?” She simpered, and Lila paused, slapping another of her cheery grins on.

“Of course, Chloé! What did you want to talk about?” The blonde tapped her chin for a few moments, miming thinking before snapping her fingers.

“That’s it! I wanted to tell you stop your pathetic little game.” She was pleased when Lila took a step back from her at the venom in her voice.

“I don’t know what you mean.” She tried feebly.

“Cut the crap, Lie-la. We both know that’s all you do.” The momentary look of fear on Lila’s face smoothed into a cold impassive glare.

“You going to lecture me like goody-two-shoes Marinette? You want me to turn all your friends against you like I’m going to do to her?” Chloé laughed cruelly.

“In case you hadn’t noticed, I don’t really have any. There’s nothing you can do to me.” Chloé mocked. “The thing with lies is that eventually they’ll pile up so high all it takes is a little shove to send them all crashing down, and you’ll be all alone and humiliated. You do not want me to be the one who makes that first push.” When Lila didn’t answer, Chloé simply ploughed on.

“So, here’s what you’re going to do. You’re going to stop using your lies to manipulate my class and you’re going to leave Marinette alone. I worked hard to ensure that everything there works and is orderly and I won’t have some interloper damaging that. We clear?”

“Crystal.” Lila gritted out before turning on her heel and stalking away, leaving Chloé victorious. Smirking proudly to herself, she headed back towards the entrance and her idling limo. She wasn’t sure why she’d added the rider about Marinette to her deal, and she had no doubt Lila wouldn’t stop lying to make herself look better, but she was confident that her threats would be sufficient for now until she could convince Adrien and Marinette to help her in stopping Lila’s lying for good.

What concerned her most though, was that if Lila got akumatised yet again, she’d certainly be gunning for her. Still, Chloé was far better equipped to handle being hated and pursued by a supervillain than Marinette. It’s not like it was anything new at this point.

Climbing into her waiting limo, she looked out the window to see Marinette entering the bakery, completely unaware of the favour Chloé had just done for her. Sighing, she settled back into her seat as the car whisked her away back home. She was doing pretty well with this new start thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was more than a little disappointed by the season finale and what they did to Chloé's character. So I'm rewriting the entire season, the rest of this won't adhere quite so strictly to episodes as this one, we're just setting things up right now. Oh and if anyone is like me and is obsessed with timelines, I am very aware it makes no sense in the show since they should be in seconde by this point if my calculations are correct, so I'm ignoring that and saying they're in troisième.
> 
> Also this won't be updating too frequently as I'll be devoting most of my writing efforts towards Exiled on Remnant.
> 
> Big thanks to [machiavellianFictionist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/machiavellianFictionist) for being my proof reader.
> 
> As always comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2

When Chloé walked into Ms Mendeleiev’s lab for chemistry the next morning, she was incredibly pleased that she saw Lila stop talking to Alix quite abruptly and wave the tomboy off. Allowing herself a small smirk of satisfaction, she settled herself in her regular seat and waited for the lesson to begin.

There was a stab of irritation as Ms Mendeleiev was almost knocked over by Marinette barrelling in, proclaiming she wasn’t late. How dare this girl disrupt one of the few lessons that was worth her precious time? Believe it or not, Chloé actually quite liked the science and maths teacher. Whilst Chloé could have read ahead and taught herself the curriculum in advance like she had with her other subjects, she found she enjoyed Ms Mendeleiev’s no-nonsense teaching style.

“ Good morning, class.” Ms Mendeleiev announced, righting herself after Marnette’s glancing blow and shooting the brunette a quick glare. “Today we shall be performing our first practical experiment for the year.” Chloé almost had to suppress a squeak of excitement. The chemistry practicals were the best! Everything so precise and measured and recording observations. How couldn’t Chloé love it?

“ I have assigned you all lab partners this year to avoid any more incidents like the one with the alcohol burner.” Chloé’s sense of jubilation faded almost instantly. She’d been counting on Sabrina being her partner. Only Sabrina knew how to keep out of her way whilst she completed the task with meticulous precision.

“ But Miss! I told you that was Kim!” Alix screeched in indignation, but Chloé tuned out the following argument and blame slinging. She was far too busy determining a preference list for who she would want as a partner. Of course, Sabrina would be ideal, but Adrien could do in a pinch, he was sweet enough to let Chloé take charge. Kante would also be acceptable, despite his apparent gullibility, he had some aptitude for the sciences.

Pretty much everyone else was uniformly terrible, except for three. Césaire hated Chloé’s guts almost as much as Marinette, Lila would make things incredibly awkward after yesterday’s confrontation, but neither could beat…

“ Marinette, you will partner with Chloé.”

“ WHAT!?” Two simultaneous shouts of shock and displeasure echoed through the room.

“ But Miss-.” Marinette started, but Chloé cut her off.

“ Ms Mendeleiev, I’m afraid this won’t work!” She cried out, trying her best look of aggrieved pain. “She hates me!”

“ Precisely why I paired you together.” The teacher cut in smoothly, fixing Chloé a stern look. “I’m afraid, Miss Bourgeois, that in the future you may have to work with people you dislike. Think of this as practice. Who knows, maybe you’ll actually get along.”

“ But-.” Chloé tried again, but fell silent as Ms Mendeleiev raised a hand.

“ Not to mention, you had the highest grade in this class last year, whilst Miss Dupain-Cheng had one of the lowest.” Marinette sank down in her chair, flushed with embarrassment. “I believe your expertise will help improve her grades.” Chloé couldn’t resist preening a little at Ms Mendeleiev’s compliment, before realising she’d missed her last chance at arguing against the pairing and the teacher had already moved on to announcing the next pairing.

Defeated, Chloé slumped back on her stool, groaning in soft frustration. Not only was she paired with a girl who absolutely hated her, she was also saddled with one of the members of the class that was worst at science.

This was an absolute nightmare.

She watched miserably as Ms Mendeleiev finished reading out the names, and there was a scraping of stools as students got up to sit with their assigned partners. She scowled in displeasure as Sabrina trotted away to sit with Lila, who promptly started chattering away to the redhead. This was all wrong. The class was thrown into disarray and Chloé did not like it one bit. Her scowl did not lessen as Marinette settled herself on Sabrina’s now vacated stool.

“ Could you stop glowering at me, Chloé?” She sighed, setting up her tablet as Ms Mendeleiev began to write the instructions on the board. When Chloé refused, Marinette groaned and turned to face her properly.

“ Look, I don’t want to be stuck in this situation any more than you do, but here we are, so why don’t we make the best of it and try to get along?” Chloé snorted indignantly.

“ Please,  _ you  _ want to get along? You hate me.” The blonde scoffed, tossing her hair as she set up her own tablet, more for show than anything else, having already read and memorised Ms Mendeleiev’s instructions.

“ What? I don’t  _ hate _ you.” Marinette sounded both appalled and confused at Chloé’s words.

“ Of course you do. Why else would you go out of your way to make my life a living hell?” Chloé snapped quietly, already standing up to retrieve lab equipment. “Now stop talking so we can do the experiment.” Leaving Marinette, she walked briskly over to the lab coats and safety glasses, smirking gleefully as she beat Lila there and was able to lay claim to the least stained lab coat. After a moment’s pause, she reluctantly collected another minimally stained lab coat and two pair of safety glasses.

“ Don’t say I never do anything for you.” She hissed at Marinette, depositing her cargo in front of the brunette before sweeping off to collect the equipment. Mentally, she checked off each item as she collected each one before realising there was too much for her to carry on her own. Groaning in irritation, she raised her voice.

“ Dupain-Cheng! Get over here.” There was a replying growl and Marinette stomped over.

“ You could have said please or something.” She huffed, as Chloé shoved the equipment she’d gathered into Marinette’s arms.

“ Take these back to the bench and don’t touch them after. Oh, and try not to trip over nothing like you usually do.” When Marinette remained stationary, Chloé rolled her eyes. “Please?” Smirking at Chloé’s concession, the brunette turned and made her way back to the desk whilst the blonde set about collecting the sulphuric acid and copper oxide.

She’d very deliberately not given Marinette any glassware, a decision that proved to be correct as the girl stumbled and nearly dropped the Bunsen burner. Sighing, Chloé continued to assemble the last few pieces, then conveyed them back to their shared desk, neatly dodging Lila’s outstretched leg. When she reached the desk, however, she nearly dropped her items herself as she saw what Marinette was doing.

“ I thought I told you not to set things up?” She thundered, looking at the already set up equipment.

“ I thought I’d save us some time.” Marinette looked deeply confused, as if she had no idea what she’d done wrong. Taking a deep breath to try and calm herself, Chloé set the equipment she’d brought back on the desk, taking a moment to set it out just how she liked. She then proceeded to completely dismantle what Marinette had set up, ignoring the brunette’s protests.

“ Hey! What are you doing?”

“ Making sure that everything is in the right place.” The blonde mumbled, setting the equipment in the order it would be needed whilst making sure she wouldn’t accidentally knock something over when reaching for things. Once she was satisfied with the arrangement of items, Chloé took a step back and cracked her neck.

“ Stay right there, and don’t touch anything.” She ordered Marinette, who opened her mouth to protest some more, but Chloé had already tuned her out. Within half a minute, the burner was set up just how Chloé liked it and she was fetching a light from the burner Ms Mendeleiev had set up at the front. Within short order the acid was being heated as Chloé set up the next stage, precisely folding the filter paper and setting up the conical flask.

She spared a glance over at Marinette, she had time before the acid reached the right temperature, and was mildly surprised to see Marinette gaping at her. It was very confusing.

“ What?” She snapped, slipping back into old defence mechanisms.

“ I’m just surprised… I thought you made Sabrina do all the work.” Chloé couldn’t help but snort in derision.

“ Please. Sabrina’s perfectly capable, but she knows it’s far better if I do this. Then everything it perfect and ordered.” Chloé’s train of thought drifted a little as she busied herself with removing the beaker of acid from the heat and adding the copper oxide until she couldn’t dissolve any more and the solution was almost the same shade as her own eyes. Perfect.

There was another short wait as she waited for the beaker to cool enough to handle, so Chloé took the opportunity to glance around the room. Ms Mendeleiev was assisting Alix and Césaire with their burner and everyone else seemed to be getting along fine. That is, until her eyes settled upon Sabrina and Lila. Sabrina was doing all the work whilst Lila sat on a stool, flagrantly disobeying the lab rules, and yammering away.

A soft growl emanated from Chloé’s throat. This interloper, treating Sabrina like some slave. Admittedly, this was a tad hypocritical, she knew that well, but she’d been improving over the last year, trying to take a step back from ordering Sabrina around. She had just been so good at following Chloé’s orders and ensuring everything was up to her standards, allowing her to relax somewhat from her usual tight-wound self.

Her mother would have loved Sabrina and approved of how Chloé had treated her.

Chloé clenched her fists on the table before realising Marinette was watching, and forced her hands to relax, busying herself with filtering the copper sulphate solution.

“ Am I just supposed to stand here then?” Marinette asked, a slight edge of irritation in her tone.

“ Yes. It’s better this way.” Chloé told her shortly, transferring the solution into an evaporating basin and setting the water bath to heat up.

“ Better for who? I’m not exactly going to improve my grades if I don’t do anything.”

“ Then why don’t you write up the method then?” Chloé snapped, setting the basin over the water bath and whirling to glare at Marinette. “God, you’d think you’d be glad someone else was doing the work for you.”

“ Oh, like you, you mean?” Marinette scoffed. “Everyone knows Sabrina does your homework for you.”

“ That’s because it’s pointless. I already know it. Besides, the practice does Sabrina good.” The blonde hissed, forgetting in her anger that girls like her weren’t supposed to like maths and science.

“ You already know it? Come up with a better lie next time, Chloé.” Marinette turned away dismissively, only to be caught by Chloé.

“ You think I’m lying?” She snarled, snatching up her tablet and flicking through her files from last year, before shoving the device in Marinette’s face. “All my notes from chemistry last year. All indexed by subject and colour-coded.” Chloé preened, her desire to be admired and praised overcoming her annoyance briefly.

“ Wow...” Marinette took the device and scrolled through the meticulous notes as Chloé noticed the crystals starting to form whilst she was distracted and quickly turned off the heat. “They is no way you made these all by yourself.”

“ You know I did, surely you recognise my hand writing?” Chloé commented off-handedly as she poured the copper sulphate into the glass crystallising dish. When Marinette didn’t answer, Chloé just rolled her eyes and neatly printed both their names an a piece of paper, taking it and the dish over to the fume cupboard. When she returned, Marinette had set Chloé’s tablet down and was giving her a strange look, unsettling the blonde.

“ What?” She snapped, uneasy about the way Marinette looked at her.

“ It’s just I never expected something like that from you. You always complained you hated science. Quite loudly I might add.” Chloé blushed at this, just now remembering her façade and letting it slide back over her, smoothing her face into a haughty sneer.

“ My grades were slipping last year, so Daddykins insisted I improve or he’d cut my allowance.” She said dismissively, taking her tablet quickly and sitting back down. She proceeded to ignore Marinette and started making her notes on the experiment, typing out the method and chemical equation for the reaction. Chancing a glance over at her new partner, she wasn’t surprised to see that the brunette appeared to be struggling with balancing her equation.

Chloé briefly entertained the notion of helping her, purely to show off of course, not out of any sense of altruism. As she weighed her options, there was a faint crashing sound from the front of the classroom.

“ Oh no!” Chloé’s gazes snapped to the fume cupboard where Lila stood, hands clasped over her mouth and looking down at the floor. Jumping to her feet, Chloé rushed over to check what had happened and was greeted with the sight of a smashed evaporation dish on the floor, blue solution spilled everywhere. A quick look confirmed that it had been hers, and she whirled on Lila, ready to unleash a tirade of insults.

“ I’m so sorry, I was just putting our solution to evaporate and my sprained wrist twitched and knocked that one over.” Lila continued, perfectly playing the part of a clumsy yet apologetic ditz. It reminded Chloé so much of Marinette she wanted to scream. She drew breath, ready to put this interloper in her place for ruining Chloé’s neat work as she would if anyone else had done the same, but out of the corner of her eye she saw Adrien frantically shaking his head and waving at her.

Adrien was right, it wasn’t worth it. Calling Lila out on her lies was one thing, but accusing her of deliberately sabotaging the crystals was foolish and hard to prove. Reluctantly, she deflated. Though a small smirk from Lila sparked another flash of anger as the girl taunted Chloé with the knowledge it had been deliberate.

Growling, quietly, Chloé stalked back over to her desk. It was fine, she’d let Lila have her little victory. Compared to the retribution she’d been expecting from the brown-haired girl, this was relatively minor, despite the burning anger that was consuming her insides.

“ I’m so so sorry, Chloé and Marinette can use mine and Sabrina’s crystals for the observations later.” Lila offered as Ms Mendeleiev swept up the glass.

“ That’s very generous of you, Lila.” The teacher commented, dropping the shards into the glass bin and Chloé could feel tears welling up. This was wrong, wrong,  _ wrong.  _ No offence to Sabrina, but her work was inferior, and now Lila was just offering it up as though it was some noble gesture. It wasn’t orderly, it was just wrong.

She slumped into her seat, glowering menacingly at Lila, not noticing the look Sabrina was giving her. This was a new start, she was not supposed to be reduced to tears, she was fourteen for God’s sake!

“ Are you okay?” A quiet voice whispered from beside her. She jerked her head to look at Marinette, who squeaked and edged away slightly at the fury in Chloé’s damp eyes.

“ I’m fine. Everything’s fine.” She spat, swiping angrily at her face and forcing herself to focus on her tablet. It was so tempting right now to renege on her deal with Lila and just expose her now. But she resisted, that was something her mother would do and Chloé was better than that.

She spent the rest of the class in enraged silence, deciding that it wasn’t worth waiting to be taught the rest of the syllabus and instead busying herself with annotating the textbook. Marinette tried to engage her in conversation a few more times, but each attempt was rebuffed with a vicious glare.

Finally, the lesson ended and Chloé was already out of the door, beelining for her favourite spot in the school to sit and calm down. Hidden in a corner of the locker room was a tiny gap between the wall and the lockers that was just big enough for Chloé to squeeze into. She practically ran into the room, afraid someone from class might have seen her go in. Skidding round the corner, she all but threw herself into the comforting tightness of the small gap.

Once comfortably ensconced in her hidey hole, she let the angry tears spill out. It just wasn’t fair, it wasn’t right. Lila was somehow even worse than Marinette when it came to making her life hell. At least Marinette didn’t seem to take some perverse pleasure in her petty disruptions. In fact, if her disruptions to Chloé’s carefully constructed system weren’t so frequent, Chloé might have thought Marinette was completely oblivious.

“ Chloé? Are you in here?” A familiar voice called out, and Chloé heard footsteps until Sabrina rounded one of the rows of lockers to see the blonde squeezed into the gap. “There you are. Are you okay?”

“ Well, I’m in the spot I go whenever I’m upset, so take a wild guess.” She snarled, and regretted it when Sabrina flinched at her words.

“ I know you don’t like it when things don’t go to plan, but it was an accident.” Sabrina said in a firm yet gentle tone, but Chloé wasn’t having it.

“ She did it on purpose.” She hissed, only to shrink back as Sabrina glared at her.

“ She offered to let you use our crystals for the observations later.” She sighed deeply. “I don’t know why you don’t like Lila, Chloé. But she’s really nice and you shouldn’t be saying mean things about her.” Chloé’s jaw dropped at Sabrina’s defiance, unable to formulate a response.

“ B-But.” She stammered out, but the bell for the next period rang.

“ Come on, quickly, or we’ll be late and your schedule will be thrown off.” Sabrina hastily grabbed onto Chloé and hauled her to her feet, Chloé followed, unresisting as Sabrina pulled her away to their next lesson, and she wondered in shock just what had gone wrong that morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! Like I said, slightly more inconsistent posting schedule. And would you look at that? Lila's already getting some petty revenge on Chloé but I'm sure it won't escalate. Also Marinette learning stuff about Chloé's always nice and who knows? Maybe they'll kiss and makeup or something.
> 
> Big thanks to [machiavellianFictionist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/machiavellianFictionist) for proofreading.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	3. Chapter 3

Chloé’s day did not improve, somehow through no fault of Lila’s, much to Chloé’s irritation. She would have loved a reason to have a temper tantrum and relieve the stress that was bubbling just below her skin. Instead she had to slog through several of her least favourite lessons. It wasn’t that she hated Mme Bustier, she just hated literature, bunch of wishy-washy nonsense that it was. Honestly, how could there be no wrong answers?

Thankfully, the final lesson of the day was mildly tolerable. At least there were some definites to history, even if Mme Jean insisted things were open to interpretation. The moment the bell rang, Chloé practically ran out of the room, not wanting to spend another moment in that godforsaken place, and waited impatiently for Sabrina at the main entrance, ready to pass over her homework to the redhead. But, much to her surprise, Sabrina didn’t appear. Chloé waited for an extra ten minutes, using up some of the valuable slack time she’d built into her schedule, before she finally gave up and trudged dejectedly over to her waiting limo.

As the limo wound its way through the streets, Chloé wondered what could have happened to Sabrina. She’d been out of the classroom first, so there was no way Sabrina had left before her, and Sabrina was a model student, so there was no way she’d be in trouble.

Several unwelcome and intrusive thoughts crossed her mind. What if Sabrina got hurt? Or there’d been a fire. Maybe she’d been kidnapped! Chloé was about to order the limo to turn around when she saw a familiar redhead walking along the pavement with a painfully familiar brunette.

“Pull over.” She ordered the driver, ice freezing her tone.

“But Madame…” He protested weakly, only to be cut off by her sharp retort.

“Now!” The driver did as he was told and Chloé threw the door open, grabbing the attention of the pair walking along as she stormed up to them.

“Chloé?!” Sabrina sounded shocked and completely nonplussed, just behind her, Lila had a sly grin plastered across her stupid smug face.

“Sabrina, where were you?” Sabrina recoiled a little at the icy fury in Chloé’s voice. “You were supposed to meet me outside school.” A look of horror flashed across the redhead’s face and a hand shot up to cover her mouth.

“Oh no! I’m so so sorry Chloé, I got distracted. I didn’t ruin your schedule… Did I?” Sabrina’s babbled apology ground to a halt as Chloé flicked her eyes pointedly at Lila, who was still stood within earshot. No-one, absolutely no-one could know about Chloé’s schedules. The only people who did were Sabrina and Adrien. Not even Papa knew, not after how concerned he’d gotten when Chloé’s preferred method of playing was lining things up in neat lines.

“I’m sorry Chloé, it’s my fault. I didn’t know Sabrina had agreed to meet up with you.” The brunette’s voice dripped with fake concern and Chloé could tell, even if she didn’t know about their meeting, the opportunity to steal Sabrina must have been too tempting. “What’s this about a schedule?” Before Chloé could stop her, Sabrina eagerly leaped into an explanation.

“Oh Chloé has all her days planned out to the minute, she’s super organised and everything has to go to plan or-.” Her words were cut off by Chloé’s manicured hand slapping over her mouth.

“It’s far too long and complicated to tell you right now. Sabrina, you’re coming back with me, right?” The blonde released her hold on Sabrina so she could answer.

“Actually, I need to go straight home today, sorry Chloé. See you tomorrow though! Bye Chloé! Bye Lila!” With a bright cheery smile, Sabrina waved goodbye to the other two and trotted away. Chloé thought she showed remarkable restraint in not confronting Lila until Sabrina was out of sight.

“What the fuck do you think you’re playing at?” She hissed, trying to use her small height advantage to tower over Lila. “Do you not remember our little conversation yesterday?”

“Oh, I do.” Chloé didn’t like the way Lila was smirking at her. “And I’m leaving Marinette alone, aren’t I? Just like you told me.”

“Then I’ll ask again, what the fuck are you playing at, stealing Sabrina away from me?” Chloé gritted out, blue eyes boring into green.

“Well after our conversation, I had a think and I’ve decided that tearing down Marinette wouldn’t nearly be as fun as destroying you.” The abrupt change in Lila’s tone from saccharine to venomous shocked Chloé into taking a step back. “You think there’s nothing I can do to you? I’m going to prove you wrong. I’m going to destroy you, Chloé Bourgeois, and there’s not a thing you can do about it.” She laughed cruelly at the look of distress on Chloé’s face. “By all means, try to stop me, tear down my tower of lies. But you’ll fail, and when you do, then I’ll destroy your precious Marinette.” Chloé tried to regain control of the situation by laughing loudly.

“My precious Marinette? I know you’ve been cooped up in your room like some pathetic recluse. But in case you hadn’t noticed, Marinette and I hate each other.” Of course they did, what other word could describe the burning she felt whenever she so much as looked at Marinette? Lila however just laughed even louder, much to Chloé’s confusion.

“Oh, this is perfect, just perfect. I am going to enjoy making you regret even thinking you could take me on.” Still chuckling darkly, the brunette turned her back on Chloé and sauntered off, leaving Chloé stunned and more than a little anxious. She stood there for another few moments, before shaking herself and striding back over to her limo. If it was a war Lila wanted, it was a war she’d get, and it was time to call in reinforcements.

* * *

“Adrikins? You’re not busy now, are you? Of course you’re not, can you come over please?” Chloé crooned into her phone, trying to entice her best friend into coming round. “I’ll even have some of that stinky cheese you like sent up.” There was a deep sigh on the other end of the line.

“Fine, just let me talk to my father and I’ll ask the Gorilla drive me over.” Chloé let out a short squeal of joy, her free hand flapping wildly.

“Yay! Don’t worry, Adrikins. We’ll have lots and lots of fun!” Yes, lots of fun working out how to stop Lila. Ending the call, Chloé set about getting her room sorted for when Adrien got there. Ringing down to the kitchen, she requested that some of Adrien’s stinky Camembert be sent up, and once done with that she began sorting through her nail polishes, for the best ones she reserved only for herself and Adrien. They’d been painting each other’s nails since they were kids, and although Adrien wasn’t supposed to wear it any more at his father’s insistence, for the good of his modelling career the man said, they always made a point of doing it anyway whenever he came over to Chloé’s.

Normally she would have allotted time during the weekend for Adrien’s visit, but the encounter with Lila had so thoroughly ruined her timings there was no point even carrying on with even a hastily cobbled together facsimile of her perfect schedule. And If she failed her biology class because she could no longer complete her review of the work for tomorrow’s lesson, then it was just something else to loathe Lila for.

She eventually settled upon a few of the bottles and set them out in a neat line on one of the tables in the living area of her suite. Finally, she grabbed her TV’s remote and thumbed through the hard drive attached to her TV for the compilation of Adrien’s favourite footage of Ladybug. Honestly, she thought Adrien’s taste in videos of Ladybug was rather lacking, they were almost exclusively low angle shots and you rarely saw Ladybug’s face. Compared to the gem of Chloé’s compilation, which depicted the hero catching a car. The resolution was fantastic and you could see the strain in her face and the flexing muscles in her arms and shoulders rendered in beautiful high definition. But Chloé was nothing if not a gracious hostess, so she queued up Adrien’s collection of sub-par clips and sat down on the sofa to wait

With the initial preparations complete, she spent some time browsing the Ladyblog on her tablet to check if there were any new sightings or Akumas. Much as she disliked Césaire, a feeling that was very much mutual, Chloé did have to respect the girl’s almost suicidal dedication to getting the best shots. Although the grammar of her posts was atrocious. Chloé took an almost savage glee in finding and correcting all the errors she could, submitting them in a scathing comment under one of her many pseudonymous accounts on the site.

Evisceration of Césaire’s poor grasp of French complete, Chloé felt a modicum of tension ease from her shoulders, as it always would whenever she restored some semblance of order to the world, no matter how small. Rubbing at her temples, Chloé groaned and let herself flop back, sprawling across her sofa. She hated having to sit properly in public, but girls like her had an image to maintain, and that was far more important than any notions of comfort.

Gazing up at the ceiling, she wondered just how she was going to persuade Adrien to join her campaign against Lila when he’d insisted upon remaining neutral with Marinette. Well, it was obvious really, Marinette lacked the required qualifications to persuade him. Cute as she may be, she was no Chloé ,and Adrien knew it. Why else would he be her best friend if not to remain close to her beauty? It was only natural.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a soft knocking at her suite door and, leaping to her feet, Chloé dashed over to open it and throw herself into Adrien’s waiting arms.

“Adrikins!” She squealed, wrapping her arms around his neck and squeezing him tight. “I’m so glad you’re here!” Perhaps she was being a touch more affectionate than usual, but there wasn’t an audience to pander to so she could be as enthusiastic as she liked.

“C-Chloé, I’d like to breathe.” He choked out and, reluctantly, she released him and skipped back in to the room, Adrien following at a slower pace and rubbing his neck gingerly.

“We’re going to have so much fun! I’ve got a new colour I’ve just been dying to see you try and I even loaded up that video I made for you of Ladybug!” Chloé gushed as she plopped herself down on the couch and eagerly selected the royal purple nail polish she’d picked out for Adrien as well as the base coat.

“Chloé...” Adrien sighed reproachfully as he seated himself beside the blonde girl and offered up a hand. “Why did you really invite me here? We both know your schedule only lets you invite me over on the weekend.”

“You make it sound like I’m helpless to this external force.” Chloé pouted, ignoring the fact that the only reason she had invited him over was because her schedule had been so thoroughly wrecked. “I can be flexible.” She squirmed a little under Adrien’s flat look as she gently started applying the base coat.

“Please, just tell me why you wanted to see me.” Chloé sighed, finishing the hand and setting aside the small bottle.

“I need your help. We both know Lila’s full of shit and she can’t be allowed to continue like this.” Adrien’s eyes widened, but Chloé didn’t give him a chance to interject. “If we work together, we can expose her for what she truly is.”

“But Chloé, if we humiliate her like that then-.”

“She’d be even worse, yada yada yada. I heard you tell Marinette that yesterday and you’re wrong. I’m a hero and I can’t just stand by and let her destroy everything I’ve worked so hard for.”

“Uhhh, Chloé… That’s not what being a hero’s about.” Chloé huffed in irritation, what would Adrien know of being a hero? She was Queen Bee, or at least would be once Ladybug recognised her worth and put her back in the fight.

“That’s not important, you know what Lila’s doing is wrong.” The blonde girl insisted, and Adrien nodded awkwardly.

“Yeah… But wouldn’t the alternative be worse?”

“Worse how? So her feelings get a bit hurt, serves her right.” Chloé scoffed, not noticing the serious look on Adrien’s face.

“Chloé, I didn’t tell you this before because it was none of your business, but last year, before Lila went on her sabbatical, Ladybug called her out for lying and pretending to be a hero. I was there when it happened. That’s why she got akumatized the first time, Ladybug calling her out in front of me upset her enough to get her akumatized.” Chloé was taken aback by this, not to mention annoyed Adrien had kept this from her.

“And you’re afraid that will happen again.” Adrien nodded in relief.

“Yes, so isn’t letting her have her fantasies the lesser evil?” She could certainly see Adrien’s point, but her mind flashed back to earlier that afternoon and the cold voice threatening to destroy her. But she couldn’t tell Adrien that, it would make her sound scared, which maybe she was a little, but that was irrelevant. Out of the two of them, Chloé had always been the leader and the one in charge. Adrien depended on her, so she couldn’t show any weakness.

“Evil is still evil Adrikins, even if it is a lesser one.” She insisted, praying that Adrien would acquiesce to her demands as he always did.

“I’m sorry, Chloé, but I’m not going to help you with this.” It was like a lead weight dropped in Chloé’s stomach. She’d been counting on Adrien’s support, confident in her persuasive capabilities compared to Marinette’s. Now she had no-one to support her endeavour. Sabrina was being swayed and it would take everything she had to keep her from leaving, and no-one else in the class liked her enough to support her.

A small, irritatingly rational voice in her head reminded her that Marinette might be willing to put their differences aside for the greater good of Chloé’s precious order. Thankfully the rebellious voice was squashed by the evidently far more sensible part of her brain that reminded her that, after Lila, Marinette was her greatest nemesis.

“This is awkward now, I should go...” Adrien’s words shook Chloé out of her contemplation and she realised she hadn’t been controlling her expression like she should have.

“Nooooo, Adrikins. It’s fine, I still want to do your nails.” She said quickly, grabbing Adrien by the hand to stop him from rising. “Don’t you want to watch the footage? I added that one you said you liked where Ladybug does that gymnastics routine.” She could see Adrien’s resolve waver and he gave in, letting Chloé re-open the bottle of base coat and allowed her to start work on his other hand. On her part, Chloé was glad she hadn’t completely lost her touch with Adrien. Really, the boy did need to grow a spine someday, and she wondered just why he was so passive. But for now, Chloé was happy to be the one to guide him and make sure people didn’t walk over him.

They spent the rest of the afternoon watching news footage of Ladybug’s various exploits and heroic deeds, occasionally commenting on the video and chattering about schoolwork as they painted each other’s nails. A deep eggplant for Adrien and a soft peach for Chloé that she knew would complement the outfit she had planned for tomorrow.

“Do you need me to take it off before you leave Adrikins?” Chloé asked, ready to fetch the polish remover but Adrien shook his head.

“I haven’t got a shoot for a few days so it should be fine. Besides, it looks nice and I want to keep it as long as possible.” Chloé preened a little at the compliment to her skills. She had on occasion wanted to test them out on Sabrina, the girl could do with something to enhance her looks, but such a thing was beneath her. Or so she’d believed, because Mother had told her that she was better than all the petty commoners. She looked over at her friend, he’d never had any trouble mixing with the people Mother would have called commoners and certainly didn’t mind stooping to the level of performing menial tasks and other such things far below his station.

“Adrikins...” She asked quietly, drawing his attention away from his shiny nails.

“Yes, Chloé?”

“You’ve been rich your whole life like me, right?” Adrien nodded. “We’re both upper class.” Another nod, but a little more hesitant than before. “Weren’t you told that made you better than everyone else?” Adrien’s eyes widened as she asked this.

“Chloé, surely you don’t believe that?” He sounded hurt, almost, and Chloé couldn’t stand to meet his gaze.

“I don’t think so...” Doubt filled her voice and she felt her hands start drumming out a rhythm on the sofa.

“Who told you that?” Adrien’s voice was laced with concern at her confession.

“Mother did, when I was little.” She admitted, embarrassed by her previous unshakeable belief in her Mother’s words. “That’s why I don’t know any more. After Style Queen I may have been forced to confront some unsavoury realities about her.” She chanced a glance at Adrien and looked away again in guilt, only he had the power to make her feel bad about herself.

“Didn’t you believe everything your Maman told you when you were little?” She defended weakly. “It meant everything was neat and orderly and made sense.” She hated the look Adrien was giving her, a mix of what looked like pity and concern.

“Can we talk about something else now.” She tried to change the subject and, after a hard look, Adrien acquiesced and asked about the mathematics notes she’d promised him. He stayed for another half-an-hour, snacking on Camembert, which Chloé politely refused, until he had to leave, kissing her goodbye on the cheek and leaving her alone in her suite. As she prepared for dinner with Papa, she wondered what tomorrow would bring without Adrien’s tacit support in her campaign. She reassured herself that it was only the beginning of their war, Lila had no time to prepare. It wasn’t as though she could destroy Chloé’s life in a single day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya, here with another update on this. I don't really have much to say right now on this 'cause I'm steamed about the stuff going down in MtG. But I did like writing this, it was very cute, Lila being threatening notwithstanding.
> 
> Big thanks to [machiavellianFictionist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/machiavellianFictionist) for proofreading despite her being mean to me and calling me cute.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	4. Chapter 4

Chloé was on edge for the entirety of the next two days, but no retribution from Lila was apparent. Of course, she could chalk it up to simply being right about Lila being unable to destroy her life in a single day. However, her overactive brain had also churned through hundreds of possibilities, ranging from Lila sowing seeds for her master plan to her deliberately not doing anything to make Chloé paranoid. If it was the latter, she was doing an excellent job of it.

At least she had Sabrina back. The girl seemed determined to make up for breaking Chloé’s schedule and Chloé wasn’t complaining about having her second-best friend back, even if said second-best friend was unable to refrain from extolling the virtues of Lila every ten minutes.

“ Ooh, did I tell you about how Lila’s been swimming with dolphins?” Annoyingly plausible. From what Chloé had gathered, Lila’s mother was a diplomat and they’d travelled to several places across the world.

“ Chloé, did you know Lila used to be a kung fu master until she got badly injured during a fight?” Laughably false. Lila had given no indication of any sort of skill not granted by being akumatized, the only exception being her fast reflexes in catching that napkin Marinette had thrown at her.

“ Lila’s met Jagged Stone, and he even wrote a song about her.” If it were anyone else, Chloé would have declared it false on the spot. But Jagged was famed for his regular interactions with fans, hell, even someone like Marinette had met him and designed those rather fetching Eiffel Tower sunglasses for him. Of course, he was a frequent guest of Papa’s, so she could easily ask him and disprove Lila’s point. Although she got the impression he didn’t like her all that much, just because she preferred XY’s music. She’d always found Jagged’s sound far too loud and chaotic compared to the slick production of XY’s.

All day, Chloé had to endure the string of lies Lila had indoctrinated Sabrina and, presumably, the rest of the class with. It got to the point Chloé wasn’t even sure what was real and what wasn’t, with so many plausible lies and the occasional truth (Lila had indeed once won a competition for a year’s supply of Haribo). Chloé’s sense of reality was so off kilter she had to spend several minutes in a quiet corner desperately reorganising her thoughts.

For the first time in years, Chloé felt out of control of the situation, and she did not like it one bit. Much as she hated to admit it, Lila had the advantage here. She had the luxury of acting, whilst Chloé could only react to whatever mischief the brunette pulled off. That said, she had spent a lot of her spare time that day gathering evidence to wield against Lila, various accounts that could disprove some of her more ridiculous lies. Which led to where she was now, concealed beneath the stairs at the end of the day and waiting for Lila.

In addition to her research, she’d also been discreetly following Lila and taking notes of every story Lila had told. She’d blocked out some time later to go through and organise the notes, but hopefully it would all be worth it and the itemised notes would ruin Lila’s reputation. Of course, unlike Lila, Chloé wasn’t some villain. Once Lila’s attempts at petty revenge were foiled and her hold over the class, Chloé could help her be better. It’s what a hero should do after all.

“ What are you doing?” A sharp voice cut into Chloé’s train of thought, derailing it and irritating her enough to prepare to turn her full vitriol on whoever dared interrupt her. Huffing and preparing her quiet yet cutting tirade, she spun to face her interrogator, only for the words to die in her throat as she came face-to-face with Marinette, who stood a little too close for comfort. Suppressing a shriek of surprise, Chloé hopped back as Marinette continued to speak.

“ You’ve been lurking under here for the last ten minutes. What are you up to?” Chloé snorted disdainfully, turning her nose up at the girl and trying to reclaim some of her composure.

“ None of your business. Are you spying on me or something?” She accused, only dimly aware of a light flush through her cheeks at having been so close to Marinette.

“ Given your tendency to pick on and bully people, I’d say it’s definitely my business as class representative.” Marinette crossed her arms sternly, a hint of steel flashing in her eyes that made Chloé’s heart flutter a little.

“ I’ll have you know I’m not like that and never was.” She scoffed, eyes flickering away every so often to keep a watch for Lila.

“ Oh really, then pray tell why did you spend three minutes screeching at Alix?”

“ She was late returning her books to the library and we all know Mme Lavorre is too passive to say anything. What else was I supposed to do?” Chloé protested. If Alix hadn’t wanted to get put in her place, she should have been more organised.

“ That doesn’t give you the right to shout at her.” Marinette insisted, eyes still boring into Chloé.

“ It’s not like I did it over nothing. In fact, I have never done anything to anyone for no good reason.” The blonde insisted, narrowing her gaze at this annoyance of a girl.

“ Uh, does four years of picking on me ring a bell?” Marinette snarked back and something about her insolent tone set Chloé’s blood ablaze.

“ You know exactly what you’ve done to deserve that treatment, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” She hissed through gritted teeth, taking a step closer into the girl’s personal space. “Every time you’ve been late. Every missed homework assignment. Every single time you refused to just stay in your lane like a good girl, you knew exactly what you were doing and what I had to do to maintain order.” Marinette blinked in confusion as Chloé’s words sank in.

“ I what?!” But Chloé wasn’t interested in excuses, she was done here.

“ Just leave me alone.” She spat and turned on her heel to stalk away, incredibly satisfied by the way her hair whipped into Marinette’s face. As she emerged from under the stairs, she wasn’t paying attention to where she was going and collided with Lila, sending them both sprawling to the ground.

“ Ugh! Watch where you’re going!” She shrieked, disentangling herself from Lila and checking that her clothes hadn’t been ruined by the tumble.

“ Oh no, I’m so sorry, Chloé. Are you alright?” Lila’s voice was all sympathy and apology, but her expression, which only Chloé could see, was pure malice. Scrambling to her feet and brushing herself off, Chloé looked away, the piercing glare making her exceptionally uncomfortable.

“ Well, see that it doesn’t happen again.” She sniffed haughtily and strode away hastily. She glanced over her shoulder to see Ivan and Mylène fussing over Lila and throwing her dirty looks, but they’d be thanking her once she fixed everything. What really caught her attention though, was the look Marinette was giving her. An odd mix of suspicion and something Chloé couldn’t quite identify but that brought a heat to her cheeks, and she quickly looked away and rushed out of the building.

“ Hi Chloé! What’s the rush?” Sabrina asked, jogging a little to keep up with Chloé’s long strides.

“ I just want to get home.” She replied, not looking back and pulling open her limo door, gesturing for Sabrina to get in first. The redhead paused, however, looking at Chloé curiously. “What?!” She snapped, displeased by the delay.

“ You never let me get in first and you always get me to open the door for you.” The blonde blinked a few times, dumbfounded, before shaking herself and gesturing again to the door.

“ It’s not a big deal.” She huffed as Sabrina finally acquiesced and clambered into the vehicle. “You can’t say I don’t do anything for you.”

“ I’d never say that!” Sabrina sounded aghast at the very idea of it as Chloé climbed in after her and the car pulled away. “You do lots of things for me. You buys me nice clothes and jewellery, you make those nice colour-coded note sets for me and help me revise for exams.” Chloé winced a little as Sabrina listed off the various things she thought her friend did for her out of the goodness of her heart. In actuality, most of those were apologies for making Sabrina put up with her… quirks. Chloé knew she wasn’t always the easiest to get along with, and even though she had everyone’s best interests at heart, Sabrina deserved some kind of recompense especially for being her indispensable right hand.

“ So, Lila was telling me earlier how she climbed Mont Blanc.” Although her patience with said right hand was wearing thin.

“ Did she now.” Chloé deadpanned, hoping Sabrina would pick up on how deeply uninterested she was in the subject, despite it being more evidence against Lila.

“ Oh yes, and she skied all the way back down.”

“ I see.” The ‘conversation’ carried on in this vein for several minutes, Sabrina babbling about Lila’s supposed exploits and Chloé responding with the bare minimum whilst mentally cataloguing all the stories just as something to do. Quite frankly, Chloé wanted to forget Lila even existed right now so she could go home and enjoy her weekend.

Thankfully the limo pulled up outside Sabrina’s house and the redhead scrambled over Chloé to get out.

“ Thanks for the lift, Chloé!” She chirped. “See you on Sunday!” And with that she swung the door closed and trotted over to her front door as the limo slid away and its occupant could finally breathe a sigh of relief. Finally, she could get some peace and quiet. She had a nice weekend all planned out and nothing to disturb her.

* * *

Sunday afternoon found Chloé humming happily to herself, legs kicking in the air as she lay on her front on the sofa, flipping through the latest volume of ‘Pretty Girl Tenshi: Justice Stars’. It wasn’t her favourite series by any means, but it had good characters, even if the plot was rather derivative. She’d just gotten to the point where Haruka was about to confess to her crush and she could feel the excitement bubbling up, when her room phone rang. Sighing in mild irritation, she carefully marked her page and snatched up the phone.

“ Yes, what is it?” She asked, trying to conceal her annoyance at being interrupted.

“ Sorry to bother you Ma’am, but there is someone here to see you, says she’s a friend from school.” There was a scepticism in the doorman’s voice that Chloé elected to ignore as she glanced up at the clock. Sabrina was early, but perhaps she was still trying to make up for abandoning her earlier in the week.

“ Send her up, please.” She replied and set the receiver down before getting back to her manga. About a minute later there was a knock on the door and Chloé rose to answer it. No need to hide her manga like she did with anyone other than Adrien, Sabrina had been the one to acquire most of it after all. She was shocked, however, when instead of a familiar redhead, an irritating dark-haired girl barged past her and was already babbling.

“ Okay, it’s been bugging me all weekend. What do you mean ‘stay in my lane and be a good girl’?” Chloé’s mouth worked silently for a few seconds as Marinette paced the room. “I just do not understand you right now. You did both our work in Chemistry, without any complaint, less than that even. Then you tell me you’re not a bully and that you never do anything to anyone without good reason. And to cap it all off, for some reason you’re stalking Lila. I just don’t get it!” It was at this point Chloé found her voice.

“ What the fuck do you think you’re doing just barging into my rooms like this!?” She shrieked indignantly and ignoring Marinette’s gasp at her foul language. “What the fuck do you think gives you the right to question me and what I do?!” Anger flared in Marinette’s eyes and she started shouting back.

“ The same reason you seem to think you have the right to pick on people because you say you’re ‘keeping order’. What’s with that anyway?” Chloé was getting very mad now, slamming the door shut, she stalked over to Marinette and got right in her face.

“ You know perfectly well what it is, given your adeptness at ruining it. Schedules, routines, making sure all the rules are followed and everything is neatly in place.” She spat, ignoring the tiny voice at the back of her mind, reminding her that her Mother’s conceptions of order had been wrong. “And it all works perfectly. People don’t shout out in class any more, do they? That was me, because Mme Bustier is far too polite to stop that behaviour. Everyone turns their homework in on time because of me, and now they don’t get detentions, which are a drain on the teachers’ valuable time. Everything I do is to make sure everything runs smoothly, but you seem determined to undermine my authority an-.” Chloé froze, only just now realising in her anger she’d forgotten she had an image to maintain and now Marinette was looking at her with a slack-jawed expression.

This was wrong, this was very, very wrong. Chloé could feel the tingling in her hands and the need to shake out the tension and upset. But that would only make things worse. So instead, she backed away from Marinette and started pacing the room restlessly, counting the steps as she fretted. Marinette was going to tell everyone about her, she’d be ruined, exiled from the class. Papa would get angry she hadn’t kept it in and she’d get sent to that special school far away from Paris. She’d never see Adrien ever again. 

“ I-I think you should go.” She finally said, loud enough for the intruder to hear and seeming to startle the girl out of her stupor. Tears stung her eyes and threatened to spill out as she continued her measured strides.

“ Wait Chloé, I’m sorry for barging in on you like I did.” Marinette stumbled over the apology as she chased after Chloé, whose agitated pacing had taken her into the living area. “Can we start over?”

“ No, no we can’t!” This was all wrong, no one was supposed to see her like this, Mother and Papa had told her so many times. Over and over. She wanted Mr Cuddly, she needed him to help calm down, but Marinette was still there and not leaving.

“ I told you to leave! You can’t see me like this!” She shrieked, whirling to face the dark-haired girl only to see her staring down at Chloé’s left hand. Glancing down as well, she was shocked to see her hand flapping in agitation, she hadn’t even noticed she was doing it. Grabbing her wrist tightly in her other hand, she spun around to face away from Marinette, her whole body shaking now. She tried to form words, but they just wouldn’t form and all that came out was a strange keening.

“ Chloé, I’m not going to leave you like this.” Marinette’s tone had softened and Chloé could hear her approaching carefully. “Maybe if you sat down?” That actually did sound like a good idea. Chloé practically collapsed onto the sofa and felt the other end depress as Marinette sat down as well. They remained silent for a while, the only sound being Chloé’s rapid breathing and the anxious drumming of her hand on the sofa.

“ Do you think you can talk properly now?.” Marinette finally broke the silence, making Chloé jump and hastily pulled herself upright, hand still beating out a tattoo on the upholstery. There was a pause, then Chloé shook her head and slowly pulled up her legs,tucked them into her chest and squeezed them tight with her arms, the pressure reassuring her.

“ Can I get you anything? Whenever I’m upset I like to drink tea or something.” Marinette offered tentatively and, after a moment, Chloé nodded pointing over at the phone beside Marinette, which she picked up and called down to the front desk.

“ Uh Hi, I’m calling from Ms Bourgeois’ suite. Yes, she is here. Can I have some chamomile tea sent up please? Thank you!” She set down the receiver. “It’ll be up in a bit. Do you want to talk or…?” Another shake of Chloé’s head and Marinette hummed in agreement. Chloé felt exhausted, she was a little calmer, but still couldn’t quite form any more words. The pair sat awkwardly for another few minutes until there was a knock at the door, making them both start. Quickly, Marinette got to her feet and answered the door, muttering a few words to the concierge before closing the door and returning with a carefully balanced silver tray, which she set down on the coffee table.

Pouring out a cup from the simple teapot, she handed it to Chloé, who took it after a moment’s hesitation and took an experimental sniff. It certainly smelled sweet, but beyond that Chloé couldn’t pinpoint anything else.

“ Try it, it’s good.” Marinette suggested, having poured her own cup and was sipping at it delicately. Warily, Chloé raised the cup to her lips and took a small sip. Marinette was right, it was good. Just sweet enough to satisfy Chloé’s palate but with a herbal quality that soothed her throat’s rawness as she swallowed.”

“ Do you like it?” Marinette asked, a small note of worry in her tone that disappeared when the blonde girl nodded. “Good. I like to drink it whenever I find things getting overwhelming or too stressful.” They didn’t talk again until the cups were drained and fresh ones served.

“ Why did you stay? Nobody else would.” Chloé finally spoke up, setting her now empty second cup down.

“ You were in distress, I couldn’t just leave you like that. Especially not when I caused it.” Marinette shrugged guiltily. “Do you want to talk about what happened?”

“ No.” Chloé answered quickly and regretted it immediately. “I-I would just like to spend some time alone now, to calm down properly.” She prayed that would be it, but it wasn’t, as Marinette piped up again.”

“ Tomorrow then, after school. Come round to the bakery, please.” There was something about the pleading tone in Marinette’s voice that caused her resolve to crumble.

“ Fine, tomorrow then.” She agreed. “Can you leave now?”

“ Sure, see you tomorrow.” Marinette stood up, placing her cup on the tray and giving Chloé a small smile before leaving the room, closing the door quietly behind her. Groaning in relief now that the dark-haired girl had finally left, Chloé got up as well and shuffled over to her wardrobe where, behind a pile of shirts, lay Mr Cuddly.

Carefully extracting her beloved bear, Chloé made her way to her bed and proceeded to collapse on it, curling up protectively around the bear. Extracting her phone from her pocket, she sent a quick text off to Sabrina telling her she wasn’t feeling well and they’d do the homework handover tomorrow. Not bothering to see if there was a reply, she dropped the phone unceremoniously on her bedside table and tried to settle down for a nap, trying not to think about tomorrow and what she was going to say to Marinette.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been on a bit of a writing kick the last few days so I was able to get this done sooner than I thought. With every chapter I write, I feel worse for Chloé and what she's going to go through. Well, she's got a fun conversation to have next chapter.
> 
> Big thanks to [machiavellianFictionist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/machiavellianFictionist) for proofreading and being my bad idea sounding board.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	5. Chapter 5

To say Chloé was nervous the next day would be something of an understatement. She could barely concentrate on her lessons and throughout the day kept glancing over at Marinette. The girl hadn’t actually said she wouldn’t tell anyone about Chloé’s… ‘episode’ yesterday. and she was constantly afraid of Césaire or, God forbid, Lila getting wind of it. Yet as the final bell rang and the class started collecting up their things, no massive announcement had come from either girl nor Marinette though nothing from the latter wasn’t surprising. Tearing Chloé down in public wasn’t her style, she was a far more subtle nemesis to Chloé.

A nemesis she had agreed to talk to and explain what had happened yesterday. Not for the first time that day, Chloé wondered why she’d agreed to that. She knew part of it had been her just wanting to get Marinette out of her rooms and she probably would have said anything to do so. Then she would come back to how Marinette had insisted on staying with her through her freak out, something no one else would have done. Okay, that was a lie, Adrien would certainly have stayed and she would have asked him to. Truthfully, she didn’t like going through freak outs alone, but the idea of Marinette seeing her like that…

“Chloé?” A soft voice derailed the blonde’s train of thought, and she snapped her gaze up at its subject, Marinette.

“What?!” She snapped, before wincing a little at her harsh tone and looking around quickly in case somebody saw them together only to find the room deserted. “Where is everyone?”

“They all left, Chloé, that’s what I came over to tell you. You’ve been staring off into space for the past five minutes. Sabrina was trying to get your attention but Lila called her away.” That two-faced friend-stealing little bitch. Chloé had half a mind to chase after the pair and lambaste her friend for abandoning her so easily, but she was prevented from doing so by Marinette.

“Soooo, would you like to walk with me?” the dark-haired girl offered tentatively sending Chloé on the defensive.

“Why? So you can make sure I don’t run away?” She accused wildly, glaring up at Marinette until she saw the hurt expression on the girl’s face.

“I wouldn’t do that, Chloé. If you really don’t want to tell me that’s fine, but you said a lot of stuff yesterday, and quite a bit was about me, and I’d like to know what you meant by it all.” She said softly, eyes looking away and fiddling nervously with the strap of her bag.

She’d given Chloé an out, she could just tell Marinette she didn’t want to talk and they could go their separate ways. But again there was something in Marinette’s tone that made her hesitate. It wasn’t really fair on the dark-haired girl to leave her confused like this, not to mention if she didn’t talk, Marinette might be compelled to start informing everyone that the perfect Chloé Bourgeois was crazy.

Reassuring herself that it was purely out of self-preservation, Chloé rose gracefully from her seat and carefully placed her things in her bag.

“Lead the way then, Dupain-Cheng.” She told the other girl, swinging her bag over her shoulder and looking expectantly at Marinette. Squeaking in surprise, the dark-haired girl scurried down the steps and over to the door, Chloé striding after, shaking her head as she went. Chloé tried to ignore the questioning looks she got from the few students still milling around as she followed Marinette down the stairs and out onto the steps.

“One moment, please.” She told her companion and she jogged over to her waiting limo, tapping on the driver’s window. “I’m going to a friend’s house to do some work, so you can go now, and I won’t require your services later, thank you.” She instructed the driver once he’d rolled down his window.

“Very well, Ma’am.” He nodded dutifully, rolled the window up and peeled away into the Paris afternoon traffic. Satisfied, she trotted over to Marinette, who had continued a little way towards the bakery. Not for the first time, Chloé wondered how Marinette could be so consistently late when she literally lived just opposite the school.

“Maman! Papa! I’m home!” Marinette called out as she opened the door, setting the bell above it jingling, and Marinette’s father stuck his head out of the back room.

“Marinette! And… Chloé?” The blonde fought the urge to roll her eyes at the baker’s confused tone, as if she could be mistaken for anybody else.

“Chloé is my partner for chemistry and we’re going to work together on some homework!” Again Chloé wanted to roll her eyes at how awful Marinette was at hiding things and lying.

“I see… Well your mother popped out for some groceries, but when she gets back I can bring up some snacks if you’d like?” Marinette’s father offered and his daughter nodded eagerly.

“Yes please, Papa!” She squealed, skipping around the side of the counter to wrap him in a tight hug before gesturing to Chloé to follow her upstairs. Sighing in resignation, Chloé traipsed after the irritatingly perky girl up through the Dupain-Cheng’s living room and kitchen, up the stairs and through the trapdoor into Marinette’s room.

Chloé could feel her eye twitching as she emerged into the room. It was so messy. Scraps of cloth and other seamstress tools lay haphazardly across the floor, the chaise was covered in papers depicting various drawings, presumably of the dress that hung on the mannequin in the corner. And the desk! The desk was possibly the worst thing in there. Even more papers were scattered across it, covering the keyboard, as well as several haphazardly stacked folders that were filled to the brim with what looked like notes from school. At least the room smelled nice? Lavender and a few other subtle flowery smells.

“Ehehehe, Sorry about the mess.” Marinette said sheepishly, rubbing at the back of her head as she looked around the room in embarrassment. “I haven’t had much time to clean recently.” It took a lot of willpower on Chloé’s part not to tear into Marinette for the appalling state of her living space or to just start tidying herself, but she was just about able to calm herself by taking a deep breath, though her hand still twitched irritably.

“It’s fine.” She lied primly, carefully stacking and neatly aligning several of the drawings scattered across the chaise to make room for her to sit down. Marinette set her bag aside and wheeled out her desk chair to face Chloé, settling herself and looking at her expectantly. Chloé drummed her fingers awkwardly on the chaise, trying to construct her explanation.

“I’m… Not entirely sure where to begin.” She finally admitted, averting her gaze to look out the window and over the nearby park.

“Maybe you could start with what happened yesterday?” Marinette suggested tentatively, drawing a sigh from Chloé.

“I suppose that’s as good a place as any.” She conceded. “I… had a little freak out.”

“That seemed a little more extreme than just a ‘little freak out’.” Marinette queried, raising an eyebrow.

“Well I don’t know what else to call it and, compared to some other freak outs I’ve had before, that was relatively minor.” Chloé sniped back, remembering the time Adrien had threatened to end their friendship, she’d screamed herself hoarse and it had taken hours for her to calm down enough to even let Jean-François come near her.

“Okay, and what is it that caused it? It was something I did, right?” Chloé shook her head.

“It wasn’t just you, well, it was actually. It’s complicated.” The blonde huffed in irritation, why was this so hard to explain? Admittedly, she’d never had to explain it before, Adrien had known her since she was little and knew it was just how she was, and Sabrina had just accepted it with no questions asked. “You saw something you weren’t supposed to, which started me panicking, then you wouldn’t leave so I spiralled into a freak out. I’m not supposed to let people see me like that, it’s not right.” Chloé shuffled uncomfortably in place, the memory of the previous afternoon making her anxious.

“I’m sorry I didn’t leave when you told me to.” Marinette murmured guiltily.

“No!” Chloé shouted, before clapping a hand over her mouth, afraid she might have alerted Marinette’s father. After a few moments, no one appeared at the trapdoor, so Chloé allowed herself to relax. “No, y-you actually did help, the tea was good.”

“O-oh! That’s good.” Marinette shuffled her feet awkwardly, brushing her hand through her hair. “What do you mean it’s not right?”

“In this context? I have an image to maintain and I can’t let anyone see me as less than perfect.” Chloé thought over her next words carefully, trying to phrase things correctly. “In a broader context, when things aren’t neat, when they aren’t orderly, then they are wrong and need to be corrected.” Chloé folded her hands in her lap, fidgeting a little with one of her bracelets. “When things aren’t orderly, it feels… wrong, like there’s something in my head that makes me want to scream because it’s so wrong.”

“And you thought I was deliberately disrupting your ‘order’?”

“How couldn’t you be? You’re so good at it, how could it be anything but deliberate?” Chloé insisted, but doubt crept into her mind. Marinette seemed genuinely confused by everything she was telling the brunette.

“Chloé, I swear I had no idea I was doing this, I thought you were just a spoilt brat. I mean, you kind of are, but I never did anything on purpose to upset you.”

“B-But, you’re always late, you refuse to listen to me, your room is in such a mess it almost hurts to be in here!” Chloé tried to justify wildly, she could not have been so wrong all this time, that would be ridiculous, utterly ridiculous.

“I’m disorganised, Chloé!” Marinette half-shouted, gesturing wildly around at her room. “I don’t leave my room, a place you’ve never been in before today, messy just to spite you. And I didn’t listen to you because you can’t just bully order people around, even if you it’s to make them more orderly.”

“Why not? It’s for their own good.” The blonde huffed, folding her arms and staring balefully at Marinette. “Just think how much better your life could be with some organisation in it.”

“My life is fine.” Marinette protested, huffing in indignation as Chloé raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow.

“Really? Then you won’t have any trouble finding the maths homework from last week that’s due tomorrow.” She watched, eyebrow still raised as Marinette spluttered, whirling around in her chair to dig through the papers littering her desk.

“I know… it’s here somewhere…” She muttered half to herself, continuing to shuffle papers. “I did it just last night.”

“Give up?” Chloé smirked and Marinette turned back to face the smug girl who was holding a piece of paper covered in algebra scrawls.

“You tricked me!” Marinette pouted, snatching the paper from Chloé’s hand and confirming it was indeed the missing homework.

“I was illustrating a point, it wasn’t among that mess of school work on your desk, it was lying here with all your drawings. Even your messes are a mess.” The blonde stated, refolding her arms. “Now tell me that keeping things orderly isn’t a good thing.”

“Fine, maybe you have a point about things being organised.” Marinette conceded with a modicum of grace. “So that’s why you picked on and bullied me all these years, because I wasn’t neat enough.” Chloé at least had the good grace to look abashed.

“Not always? Mostly yes, I wanted you to conform. But I was also jealous of you.” She admitted grudgingly as Marinette’s jaw dropped and Chloé flushed a little.

“ _ You  _ were jealous of  _ me _ ?” Marinette finally asked when she regained the power of speech, though her eyes were still agog.

“Don’t act so surprised about it. You’re unfairly pretty, your skin is perfect without needing to do anything to it, you’re a talented designer, not to mention people actually like you” Chloé reeled off easily, though her voice dropped to a murmur for the last one.

“People like you...” Marinette hastily tried to reassure Chloé, but was met with a baleful stare.

“Name three.”

“Well, there’s Adrien and Sabrina and...” The brunette tapered off, clearly unable to think of anyone else.

“That’s what I thought.” Chloé sighed deeply. It wasn’t like it was all that surprising. She knew pretty much everyone hated her, but it still hurt.

“No, wait!” Marinette spoke up, and seemed to be struggling internally with something. “I… like you?” Chloé just stared at the brunette, gobsmacked. “I mean, your outfits are always on point and as it turns out you’re really smart, and even though you’re mean and bitchy sometimes, it’s not just for the sake of it, ya know?”

“You’re just trying to be nice to me because you feel guilty.” Chloé said firmly, trying not to let the blush rising in her cheeks become any more noticeable. “You hate me.”

“I never hated you.” Marinette admitted, fiddling with her hair. “But would it really hurt to have someone else in your corner?” Chloé hummed in thought for a moment. The brunette had a point, but before she could answer, Marinette ploughed on. “Also, if me being late and stuff causes you that much distress, then I don’t want to do that to you.”

“What? You’re suggesting you’d be willing to change your behaviour because of my… quirks?”

“Well, you were kind of right about me needing to be more organised. But! It has to go both ways.” Chloé blinked once, twice, before answering warily.

“What do you mean by ‘it has to go both ways’?”

“If I try to be more organised and get to class on time and stuff, you have to promise to stop being so mean to everyone.” Marinette stated, looking immensely proud of herself for coming up with the idea.

“I’m already trying to be nicer to people, this isn’t a fair deal for you.” Chloé told her, even though the mean part of her that sounded suspiciously like her mother insisted she take the unfair deal.

“You shouted at Alix on Friday for returning a book late.” Marinette deadpanned, making Chloé frown in frustration.

“Old habits are hard to break, okay?” She sniffed, though she was mildly annoyed that Marinette remembered that.

“Exactly, so think of this as extra motivation to be nicer!” The blonde couldn’t help but feel as if she’d been played somehow. But the agreement still didn’t feel fair, and although Chloé wasn’t sure why she felt it needed to be so, cheating Marinette after she’d made the effort to be nice to Chloé felt wrong somehow. As she thought, her eyes drifted over the paper still clutched in Marinette’s hands. She’d had a brief glance over it whilst Marinette had been digging through her desk, it was littered with mistakes and would probably earn a C grade at best. Then it hit her.

“I have a counterproposal.” She spoke up, surprising Marinette, who seemed to have thought the discussion over. “If you work on getting organised and being better at timekeeping. I’ll continue to be nicer to people and I’ll help you with your Maths and Science work.”

“You’ll what?”

“You heard me. I saw that homework, it’s appalling, quite frankly, and you’ll need all the help you can get. Besides, you’re my Chemistry partner, so it’s in my best interests for you to do well.” Chloé justified, to herself as well as to Marinette.

“O-Okay, sure that sounds good.” Marinette agreed and stuck out a hand, which Chloé took and they shook upon it. 

“This doesn’t make us friends.” She told the brunette who nodded hesitantly.

“Okay… I do have one last question though. Why were you stalking Lila?”

“Oh, I was trying to gather evidence of her lying so I can expose her to the class.” Chloé explained nonchalantly, and was surprised when Marinette’s eyes widened in shock.

“You’re doing what?” Marinette squeaked and Chloé had to refrain from rolling her eyes.

“I’m exposing her as a liar to the class, like you wanted to do.” Chloé explained as patiently as she could.

“You know she’s been lying all this time?”

“Of course I did. She can be convincing at times, but her insistence on being self-aggrandising and her inability to keep her stories straight makes it painfully obvious she’s not telling the truth.”

“And you think doing this will work and not make her angry and try to retaliate?” Chloé hesitated. She could tell Marinette that Lila was already retaliating and preparing to destroy her, but this was her own problem, not to mention how she’d tried to pull Lila’s crosshairs off of Marinette and onto herself, although she still wasn’t sure why she did that.

“It needs to be done. All it takes for evil to prevail is for good women to do nothing. I’m supposed to be a hero, so I can’t let this slide.” She neglected to mention her ulterior motives of ensuring her order wasn’t disrupted.

“I suppose…” Marinette still sounded doubtful. “But Adrien…”

“Adrikins, much as I love him, is not my keeper.” Chloé sighed. “This doesn’t concern you anyway. You asked, I answered. That’s all there is to it.” Wanting to avoid some kind of argument, she quickly changed the subject. “So, if you’re really invested in making a change and becoming more organised, let’s start with your room.”

“Now?!” Marinette squeaked again and Chloé couldn’t resist the urge to roll her eyes this time.

“I don’t have anywhere else to be.”

“Thanks for the offer, but I’d really rather you didn’t go poking around my things.” Marinette said, folding her arms and Chloé shrugged.

“Fine, if you don’t want to benefit from my talents then so be it.” She got up and made to leave, hesitating before she did so.

“You won’t tell anyone, will you?” Chloé asked nervously.

“Of course I won’t, I promise.” Marinette reassured her with a smile that Chloé returned half-heartedly before opening up the trapdoor and leaving. “Bye!” Chloé waved a little uncertainly before closing the door behind her and descending the stairs down through the bakery and out onto the streets, breathing a deep sigh of relief when she was safely outside.

That hadn’t actually been as painful as she thought it would be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aww, look at these kids making nice. Sorry for the lateness in posting this one, got stuck with a block for a while. Anyway, Marinette and Chloé starting to put their differences aside and understanding each other better.
> 
> Big thanks to [machiavellianFictionist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/machiavellianFictionist) for proofreading and being awesome.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	6. Chapter 6

Chloé wouldn’t say she and Marinette had become friends over the last few days since their talk, but there was a noticeable lack of hostility between the two which hadn’t gone unnoticed by the rest of the class.

“ I’m glad you and Marinette are getting along now, Chloé.” Adrien commented to his friend as the girl in question trotted away from their table in the library, bearing a USB stick with a copy of Chloé’s Physics notes. Adrien wanted to catch up on homework before fencing and Chloé unwilling to leave him alone with Lila prowling around.

“ It’s only because we’re Chemistry partners...” Chloé grumbled, though secretly she preened at the praise. It meant that her aim of being a better person was noticeable. That said, she felt she deserved a medal for not rolling her eyes or making a snide comment at Marinette’s lovestruck expression when she got within two metres of Adrien.

She may have realised that her mother’s classist ideas were, to put it lightly, complete bullshit, but that did not mean she thought Marinette and Adrien should be together. Marinette just wasn’t good enough for her Adrikins. No girl was, except for her, of course. Still, she’d promised to be nicer and that also applied to Marinette.

“ Well, whatever it is, I’m still glad.” Adrien smiled before returning to his homework, humming a tune that sounded strangely familiar to Chloé, although she couldn’t quite place it. She’d heard it somewhere before, somewhere recently. Racking her brain for all the music she’d listened to recently, but it didn’t resemble any J-Pop or XY.

“ What is that you’re humming, Adrikins?” She asked, unable to quell her burning curiosity.

“ Oh! It’s the main theme for The Ladybug and Chat Noir movie!” He chirped and it slid into place, she’d watched the trailer and interview with the director just last night. Really she wasn’t a big fan of animation, the manga was always better anyway, but she made an exception for this since it was about Ladybug, and because Adrien was voicing Chat Noir and she wanted to be supportive of her friend.

Of course, her interest was only in passing. It wasn’t as though she’d pored over every last detail of the production notes she could get her hands on to find out why Queen Bee hadn’t been included.

“ Right! The première's tomorrow, isn’t it?” Chloé asked and was rewarded with a bright grin.

“ Yep, I’m looking forward to it. I’ve been to premières before, but never one I’ve starred in.” Adrien was positively giddy with excitement, it seemed, which pleased Chloé greatly. The poor boy was never this happy about any of the other jobs his father had him take on.

“ You do seem awfully excited about it. You aren’t normally this happy about big social events.” Chloé teased lightly, striking out a mistake he’d make on his homework as she did so.

“ Yes, well… It’s a Ladybug movie, and you know how much I love Ladybug.”

“ Yes I do, Adrikins.” She rolled her eyes fondly. It was always refreshing to see Adrien happy. Such occasions had become rarer and rarer since his mother vanished. For months after, she’d been afraid he would never smile again.

“ Are you coming to the première, Chloé?” Adrien asked, breaking into Chloé’s train of thought.

“ Of course I am, Adrikins. Daddykins is a special guest, so naturally I’m attending.” Chloé flipped her hair imperiously, earning a chuckle from Adrien.

“ Well, I’ll look forward to seeing you there and hearing what you think. It’s been so hard keeping what happens all to myself.” The boy whined, presumably chafing under the many NDAs he’d had to sign.

“ It’s just another day, Adrikins. You can make it.” She reassured him and was about to continue, but was distracted by an obnoxiously loud voice coming from somewhere in the stacks.

“ Oh yes, obviously I was the best choice to voice Rena Rouge, the director said I had such an amazing range and passion. I had to do it under a pseudonym, of course, Mom doesn’t want me getting too much attention whilst I’m still in school.” Chloé’s fists clenched as Lila’s voice drifted over to her table. Chloé knew for a fact that the voice actor for Rena Rouge was a pretty, young up-and-coming VA, who’d done some very well-received performances for dubs. Not that Chloé paid attention to those things, of course, the manga was better after all and she couldn’t care less about unfairly gorgeous women working behind the scenes of the adaptation of Pretty Girl Tenshi.

“ She doesn’t voice Rena Rouge, does she?” Chloé growled, not needing the confirmation but her irritation was becoming too much to be contained.

“ No, she doesn’t.” Adrien admitted, and Chloé snorted in acknowledgement and started to get up, only to be held back by the blonde boy. “Chloé, please don’t.”

“ Don’t what, Adrikins? Stop a mean bitch from stealing the credit for someone else’s hard work?”

“ Isn’t that what you tried to do with Marinette’s hat design a while ago?”

“ That was different.” Chloé tried to insist, but she knew it wasn’t really. “And I got caught and punished for that.”

“ Please, Chloé. For me?” Adrien pleaded and, after a moment’s consideration, the blonde girl huffed and let herself be pulled back down into her chair. “Thank you.”

“ This is still a mistake.” Chloé grumbled as she watched Lila emerge from the shelves, still talking loudly to a small gaggle of students which included, much to Chloé’s displeasure, Sabrina. This had been happening quite a bit over the last few days, Sabrina vanishing without telling Chloé where she was going, only for the blonde girl to discover her hanging out with Lila.

She was sure the entire library could hear her teeth grinding as Lila and her group settled at a nearby table, still listening, enraptured to the brunette’s excessively loud bullshit. Libraries were supposed to be neat, orderly, and above all else quiet. But here was Lila, practically shouting and nobody was doing anything about it.

“ I can’t concentrate with that going on.” Chloé snapped, slamming her book shut and stuffing it and the rest of her things in her bag and stalking off, ignoring Adrien’s pleas for her to stay. As she stormed out of the library, slamming the door behind her in her anger, she was accosted by Césaire, who seemed to have been waiting for her.

“ Finally, I thought I was going to have to wait all day for you to come out.” The bespectacled girl groaned, grabbing Chloé by the arm and hauling her over to the side of the door, out of sight of the library.

“ Ack! What was that for!?” The blonde shrieked, knocking Césaire’s hand away and brushing herself off. She did  _ not  _ like being touched without express permission.

“ Cut the crap, Bourgeois. What did you do to Marinette?” Césaire folded her arms and tapped her foot in expectation.

“ Excuse me, I have done nothing to Dupain-Cheng.” Chloé huffed, folding her arms to match.

“ Sure sure, that’s why you’re being nice to one another and you’re not being a bitch all the time.” Alya scoffed, rolling her eyes. “So what’s your game? You trying to lull Marinette into a false sense of security and then tear her down?”

“ You and I both know, no matter what I say you won’t believe me, so let’s skip the back and forth.” Chloé sniped back, pushing past the annoying girl. She seemed determined to hate Chloé no matter what she did. Even when she was being noticeably nicer to people, in Césaire’s mind it was all some elaborate ruse.

“ I’ll find out what you’re up to, Bourgeois! I will not let you hurt Marinette!” Césaire called after Chloé as she stomped down the stairs. For her part, Chloé didn’t dignify it with a response, save for spinning on the spot to give the brunette a quick bras d’honneur before continuing on her way. Not a good end to a perfectly serviceable week.

* * *

Chloé hadn’t seen much point in dressing up too nicely for the première, it wasn’t the ballet or anything. Still it was worth dressing up enough that when she got out of the limousine after her Papa she got a reasonable amount of attention from the paparazzi as she strolled along the red carpet and into the cinema. The lobby was filled with people milling around and making small talk, both various celebrities and people who’d been lucky enough to win the raffle to get a ticket.

Looking around the room, it seemed as though Adrien hadn’t arrived yet, so Chloé looked around for people she could butter up. It was what was expected of her, after all. Papa would bring her to these events and she would talk him up to various influential people and, quite frankly, she hated it. Having to talk to all these people, having to keep her quirks under control. School was bad enough, but strangers? Awful, utterly awful.

Sighing at the prospect of having to talk to strangers, Chloé went on the hunt for canapés or whatever it was they were serving. Several of the guests appeared to have oddly familiar macarons, which she noticed as she was trying to locate the refreshments table. As she weaved through the crowd, she was staggered as someone knocked into her from behind

“ Um, Excuse me!?” She huffed, whirling to face whoever it was who’d smacked into her. It was a large bearded man dressed rather scruffily for an event such as this. There was dressing down and then there was not putting any effort in at all, and clearly this man fell into the second camp.

“ I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.” The man apologised, and Chloé could have sworn his voice was familiar. Come to think of it, he looked pretty familiar too.

“ Do I know you? I think I’ve seen you somewhere before.” She mused, scrutinising the man, who smiled a little.

“ I’m surprised, no one here’s recognised me at all.” He sighed a little, clearly he was someone important. “I’m Thomas Astruc, the-.”

“ Director of the movie, that’s it.” Chloé finished his sentence for him, remembering now the interview she’d watched a few days ago. “So that means you’re in charge of a lot of the production?”

“ Why, yes. I suppose I am.” Mr Astruc looked immensely pleased someone was taking an interest in his job.

“ So that means you’re responsible for Queen Bee not being included in the movie.” The man’s face fell at Chloé’s snide remark.

“ O-Oh...” He tried to speak, but Chloé cut him off.

“ Rena Rouge and Carapace appear, so why not Queen Bee?”

“ Well there were behind the scenes issues, finding a voice actress.” Mr Astruc justified feebly and Chloé frowned.

“ Funny, why wasn’t I contacted?”

“ You, Miss?”

“ Yes, what better way to lend some credibility to your movie than having Queen Bee herself provide her voice.”

“ You’re Chloé Bourgeois.” Mr Astruc sounded oddly shocked, so Chloé tossed her hair in irritation.

“ In the flesh. So, care to explain why I wasn’t contacted?”

“ Ah well you see. There were also various legal issues, what with your identity being known, the rights to use your image are a little complicated.” Mr Astruc stammered out under the force of Chloé’s glare.

“ Rights that could have negotiated.” Chloé pointed out.

“ And they were, our lawyers contacted Mayor Bourgeois months ago.”

“ What!?” Papa had spoken to lawyers about her appearing in the movie and her hadn’t even told her?! She was going to have words. But before she could unleash her displeasure at the whole situation at the hapless director, she was distracted by a familiar dark-haired girl bumping into her as she crawled on the ground.

“ Dupain-Cheng?!” Chloé squawked, hopping back.

“ Oh, hey, Chloé.” Marinette squeaked before continuing to scrabble away across the floor. What on Earth was she doing here?

“ Excuse me.” Mr Astruc looked immensely relieved as Chloé broke away from him to chase after Marinette. The chase led her towards the entrance, where Marinette finally stopped, having snatched up a small packet containing a macaron. Marinette nearly crashed into Chloé as she hopped to her feet, only missing due to the blonde’s quick reactions as she dodged aside.

“ What are yo-?” Chloé started, only to be distracted by two new arrivals, a blind Japanese woman who was using a freaking wooden sword as a cane and that irritating Kagami girl who was trying to court Adrien. The same Adrien who was approaching the pair and welcoming them

“ Oh no, not her!” Chloé groaned and was surprised when she heard the same words from beside her. “Huh?” She spun to glare at Marinette. “Stop it, you’re copying me! Quit it! No you quit it!” The two spoke in freakish unison until Chloé clamped her hand over Marinette’s mouth.

“ Not here.” She hissed, hauling the dark-haired girl away from the entrance and over to the corner. “First things first. What are you doing here?” Chloé asked, removing her hand from the other girl’s mouth.

“ My parents needed help serving the macarons and it was the only way I’d get to be here.” Marinette answered, somewhat indignant about getting manhandled by Chloé. Hearing this, the blonde actually paid attention to what Marinette was wearing. And, sure enough, she was wearing a waitress outfit, complete with a sickeningly adorable skirt and her hair done up in a cute bun. “My turn, how do you know Kagami?”

“ I don’t know her exactly. She’s been trying to date my Adrikins, and quite frankly she’s been very irritating about it.” Chloé fumed, remembering the time several classes had been invited to an award ceremony at the Hôtel de Ville where the Kagami girl had taken her seat by Adrien.  _ Her seat _ ! It had been an outrage. Chloé always sat by Adrien, it kept things orderly. But she’d been so rude when Chloé had tried to correct what she’d hoped was an honest mistake.

“ She what?!” Marinette almost shrieked, before she remembered she was in public and clapped a hand over her mouth.

“ Yes and, quite frankly, I do not approve. She’s not good enough for Adrikins. Especially since his father approves of her.” Quite frankly, an endorsement from that man would be more than enough to disqualify Kagami from being allowed to court Adrien. He never had his son’s best interests at heart.

“ How do you know that?” Marinette squeaked, sounding incredibly worried.

“ Their families are signing papers.” Chloé jerked a thumb over her shoulder, where Nathalie and the blind woman who she supposed was Kagami’s mother were signing several business contracts. “And she does all the activities Adrien’s father forced him into.”

“ Noooooo...” Marinette moaned, looking in distress at Adrien and Kagami, arm in arm and making the rounds of the atrium. “Chloé, you have to help me!”

“ What?” The blonde said, staring flatly at Marinette.

“ We can’t let Adrien get too close to Kagami. Otherwise he might get whisked off to Japan or something!” The dark-haired girl flailed animatedly and Chloé continued to stare at Marinette with a mixture of bemusement and irritation.

“ I’ll say again, what?”

“ Look.” Marinette darted away to a nearby table and returned with a sheet of paper that looked to be a seating plan. “All we have to do is keep Kagami away from Adrien.” She said, scanning over the paper.

“ And you want me because…?” Chloé raised an eyebrow.

“ Because you’re good at this sort of thing.” Marinette answered as she pored over the plan. “You know, being mean to people and driving them away.” The blonde scowled at this, though it wasn’t as though she could refute the point.

“ I’m pretty sure I’m supposed to be trying to be nicer to people, not driving them apart.” Chloé countered. “Much as I would like to ensure Adrien and Kagami are not together.” She was interrupted by a triumphant shout from Marinette.

“ Ha! Found him, and Kagami’s sitting next to him in the front row!”

“ Wait, what?” Chloé snatched the plan from Marinette and looked down. Sure enough, there was Adrien up in the front row with Kagami beside him and, to add insult to injury, Chloé was two rows back. Now she was annoyed. She could not let this stand. But she’d made a promise and she was going to keep it.

“ No, I don’t like it one bit, but I’m supposed to be a hero and that means stopping you from stooping to my level.” Chloé insisted, trying to grab Marinette by the collar, but the dark-haired girl dodged out of the way.

“ I still have to serve macarons, Chloé, you can’t just drag me off somewhere.” She protested, backing away from Chloé, eyes darting around suspiciously.

“ How else am I supposed to keep an eye on you? I’m not following you around like a puppy on a leash.”

“ You’ll just have to manage.” Marinette replied snootily and, tuning on her heel, made her way over to the table where her parents had set up and collected another tray of macarons. Rolling her eyes, Chloé followed Marinette to the table and collected a slice of Chat Noir themed cake, only for her to turn around and find that her quarry had vanished into the crowd.

Huffing in frustration, Chloé threw herself back into the crowd, dodging around a group of children screeching about Ladybug as she searched for the dark-haired girl before she did something she’d regret. Eventually, she located her near the bar, handing to Adrien the macaron in the packet she’d been chasing earlier. Scowling, she shoved the plate of cake into Jagged Stone’s hands before stalking over to Marinette and pulling her away whilst Adrien was distracted by Kagami.

“ What are you doing, Dupain-Cheng? Trying to get Adrien to like you instead of Kagami?” Understanding dawned in Chloé’s mind, it was so blindingly obvious she could have kicked herself. “That’s why you want to split them up isn’t it? Because of your crush on Adrien.” She should have known Marinette wasn’t going into this with the pure intentions of ensuring order was maintained.

“ You know about that?” Marinette squeaked, shrinking beneath Chloé’s stern gaze.

“ Everyone except dear Adrien knows about it, Dupain-Cheng.” The blonde snarked. “Even people who have never met you and him know about it. Excuse me, madame!” She called out to a random woman passing by. “Who does this girl have a crush on?” Chloé spun Marinette around to face the stranger, who scrutinised Marinette for a moment before answering.

“ Oh, Adrien Agreste! I don’t blame her, he seems a sweet boy.”

“ Thank you for your time.” Chloé ushered Marinette away from the crowds. “You see?”

“ Everyone knows...” The dark-haired girl murmured, seeming to be in a state of shock.

“ Get over yourself. Most everyone our age has a crush on Adrien, you’re nothing special for that.” Chloé snarked, and Marinette’s blank stare snapped to Chloé.

“ What if someone tells him!?” Marinette was trembling now and her breathing was quickening. Oh God, the girl was working herself into a panic. Frantically trying to remember what Marinette had done to calm her down, Chloé guided the now hyperventilating girl to a nearby chair.

“Please, try to calm down.” Chloé looked around wildly for tea or something like that but there was none apparent. “Do you have any tea or a hot drink?” She snapped at the nearby bartender who shook his head.

“Sorry, I can get you a glass of water if that’ll help?” Surely it couldn’t hurt.

“Yes.” She told the man, before returning her full attention to Marinette. God, was this how she’d felt when Chloé had her freak out last Sunday? “I think you’re supposed to take deep breaths or something?” Marinette nodded weakly and began modulating her breathing as the bartender returned with a glass. Sending him away with a short ‘thanks’, Chloé pressed the glass into Marinette’s trembling hands, and she gulped the whole thing down in seconds.

Gasping, Marinette slammed the glass onto the bar and leaned on the wooden surface, breathing slowing down a little, but no less heavy.

“Thank you, Chloé.” She managed to pant out.

“Think of it as recompense for when you helped me. Sorry I couldn’t get any tea.”

“It’s fine, thank you for trying.” Marinette smiled up at Chloé, who felt her face heat up for some reason. Thankfully, her spluttered attempt at justifying herself was interrupted by an anguished cry from the centre of the room.

“I spent two years of my life working for this! This was supposed to be my day and it’s ruined!” Marinette and Chloé’s heads snapped around to see Mr Astruc crying out to the heavens dramatically, looking rather worse for wear, hives across his face and cake on the seat of his trousers. Even worse, the moment his outburst ceased, everyone proceeded to ignore him and he slumped and walked away in despair.

“Should we go after him?” Marinette asked in concern, trying to get up, only for Chloé to push her down again.

“You just had a freak out or something, so you are staying put.” The blonde insisted. “Besides, he’s a grown adult, he’ll be fine.”

“I don’t know, Chloé. He seemed really upset.” The dark-haired girl mumbled, still looking concernedly in the direction Mr Astruc had gone in.

“If it’ll make you feel better, I’ll go.” Chloé huffed, stalking away after Mr Astruc. Before she got more than halfway across the room, the door the director had left through was kicked in, revealing a man who appeared to be made out of pencil scribblings and wearing a domino mask like Ladybug’s. Not only that, he looked exactly like Mr Astruc. So maybe Marinette had been right to worry. Her bad.

“AHAHAHA! So you think a director does nothing!? I’ll show you all exactly what I’m capable of!” Ah shit. Chloé took off running in the opposite direction, more than a little irritated that without her Miraculous she couldn’t do anything to help. With a grace born of many years of ballet and gymnastics lessons, Chloé vaulted over the bar and pressed herself up behind it.

She was painfully aware that she may have had a hand in the man’s akumatization thanks to her complaints about Queen Bee. If she could find Ladybug, maybe she could do something about this. But right now, there was a distinct possibility that he’d come for her like so many other akumas did.

Cautiously poking her head over the bar, it seemed the akuma had left, though she could still hear screams of terror from outside. It was then that Chloé realised she hadn’t seen Marinette in her dash for cover, nor did she see her amongst the people cowering in the atrium.

“Marinette!?” breaking from cover, Chloé ran to the nearest door and threw it open, looking for the dark-haired girl. She had no idea why it felt like something had gotten lodged in her throat and her heart was beating so quickly, she didn’t normally react to akuma attacks like this.

The next ten minutes were absolutely nerve-wracking as Chloé searched every room in the theatre she could, looking for Marinette. Her worry didn’t abate, even after she felt the wave of energy that came with Ladybug’s healing of the city wash over her.

Eventually, she made her way back into the atrium where people were beginning to reconvene, and was shocked to see Marinette stood beside the entrance to the theatre with a tray of macarons.

“Marinette! Where were you!?” Chloé demanded, storming up to Marinette. “I just spent the last eleven minutes looking for you!”

“I was hiding from the akuma.” Marinette cocked her head in puzzlement. “You were looking for me?”

“I-I didn’t want you to get hurt so soon after your episode.” Chloé spluttered. “I would have done it for anyone in your situation.”

“Okay…” Chloé was about to argue against Marinette’s scepticism, when one of the ushers called for attention and started shepherding people into the theatre. As Chloé made to leave, she was stopped by a soft hand on her arm. “Thank you for looking out for me, Chloé.” Chloé flushed in annoyance.

“It was nothing, Dupain-Cheng.” She insisted as Marinette let her go, and she swanned into the theatre, taking her assigned seat with only a modicum of displeasure at not being at Adrien’s side like she was supposed to be. Just as she was settling in there was a light tap on her shoulder. Growling, she turned to see who it was, and was shocked to see Marinette stood there sheepishly.

“I thought you were only here to help with the serving?” Chloé asked in a hushed whisper, very aware that more and more people were filtering in.

“I was, but then Mr Astruc gave me his ticket, said he’d seen the film a dozen times at least and he wanted as many people to see it as possible.” The dark-haired girl explained.

“So why are you here, was he on this row?” Chloé looked down the line for an empty seat.

“No, he’s up at the front, beside Adrien.” Chloé scowled at this.

“So you came to gloat over how you get to sit next to your crush, did you?” She grumbled, folding her arms in annoyance.

“What? No! I came to offer you my seat. I know you like sitting by Adrien.”

“O-Oh…” Chloé shrank a little in her seat in embarrassment. “You’d do that for me? Give up your chance to sit next to Adrikins?”

“Well, yeah. Think of it as recompense for looking out for me during the attack.” Marinette smiled warmly at Chloé and, once again, she felt her cheeks flush. Stumbling a little, she stood up and allowed Marinette to take her seat.

“Thank you.” She mumbled, taking her leave and hurrying down to the front row where she settled herself beside Adrien.

“Oh, hi, Chloé. I didn’t know you were sitting here.”

“I made a few arrangements.” She assured him, pointedly ignoring the daggers she was getting from Kagami on Adrien’s other side and the urge to start flapping in glee. “This is a big day for you and I wanted to show my support.” Grateful as she was to Marinette, there was no way she was telling Adrien it was her who let Chloé take the seat. Adrien might start getting the wrong idea about Marinette, and that could not happen, he was too good for her. Smiling beatifically, Chloé settled down happily next to Adrien, ultimately rather pleased with how the day had gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this? An adaptation of an actual episode! Also apologies for the delay in posting but as I noted previously, my RWBY fic does take precedence. Anyway, this was a fun chapter to write especially with Chloé trying to be a better person and Marinette trying to harness her powers to break up Adrien and Kagami.
> 
> Big thanks to [machiavellianFictionist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/machiavellianFictionist) for proofreading and keeping my mood up when I'm down
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	7. Chapter 7

“You got question four wrong.” Chloé intoned, barely needing to look at Marinette’s work to know she was right.

“What?” Marinette squawked, looking back over her work.

“You applied the quadratic formula incorrectly.” The blonde explained as patiently as she could. “the denominator is ‘2a’ not ‘a’.” Seeing that Chloé was indeed correct, Marinette hastily scribbled out her answer, not noticing how her study buddy winced at how messy it was.

“Thanks, Chloé!” Marinette smiled broadly before returning to the work at hand, humming a cheerful tune. Chloé, for her part, wasn’t entirely sure how she’d gotten into this situation. For the first time in years, she was actually doing homework. It was just as boring as she remembered, but she’d promised to help Marinette, and for some reason Sabrina hadn’t been around to complete Chloé’s homework for her.

Of course, Chloé knew that ‘some reason’ was called Lila, but her attempts to sever Sabrina from the brunette had proven fruitless. Chloé’s initial paranoia over Lila’s threats to destroy her life had mostly abated, though she couldn’t help but feel a trickle of unease whenever she caught Lila staring at her from across a room. Ultimately, she’d decided that the threat had been empty. After all, there was nothing Lila could do to her. True, Sabrina straying was annoying, but Chloé knew her wayward friend would come to her senses sooner rather than later.

Ugh, homework was so boring though! Chloé let herself flop back onto the carpet, gazing up at the ceiling and groaning incoherently. Normally she wouldn’t dare do anything like this in front of anyone other than Adrien or maybe Sabrina, but Marinette had seen her in the middle of a freak out. This was tame by comparison. And besides, it felt… comfortable? That was probably the closest word. On those rare occasions she and Sabrina did work together, it was always at a desk, never on the floor like she and Marinette currently were.

“You okay there, Chloé?” Marinette asked, head peeking into the corner of Chloé’s eye.

“Homework is so boring!” She moaned pitifully, pouting up at Marinette. “I could be doing something fun right now.”

“Spending time with me isn’t fun?” Marinette teased lightly. That was another recent development Chloé couldn’t quite understand. Not only was Marinette being friendly to her, she was making jokes and acted like she genuinely enjoyed Chloé’s presence. It made no sense. Nobody hung out with Chloé because they liked her.

Even stranger, Chloé found herself enjoying the dark-haired girl’s presence as well. When she wasn’t accidentally ruining Chloé’s carefully maintained order or obsessing over Adrien, Marinette was surprisingly fun to be around. Even when they got into an argument over whether floral patterns were making a comeback, which lasted at least half an hour, Chloé had still enjoyed the experience.

“No.” She admitted, pulling herself upright. “But there are more fun things we could be doing.” Marinette hummed in agreement.

“You have a point, but we need to do our homework.” Chloé pouted harder, but the dark-haired girl wouldn’t be swayed.

“Fiiiine!” The blonde grumbled, picking up her pen. “Not like I already do work outside of class to keep ahead of everything.” She muttered mutinously.

“The teachers use homework to gauge how well we understand the material.” Marinette explained patiently, scrawling out an incorrect answer to question seven, which Chloé reached over and crossed out neatly.

“Is that why you would always turn yours in late?” Chloé snarked as she returned to her own work, scratching out the answers without bothering with showing the working. If the answer was correct, who cared how she got there?

“I’ve been handing my homework in on time recently.” Marinette said in mock offence, and Chloé snorted in a very unladylike manner.

“Only because I made you that before-school checklist.” She scoffed, and Marinette blushed lightly. In keeping with trying to help Marinette try to be more organised, Chloé had put together an itemised list of everything Marinette needed to do in the morning before school, along with a weekly sheet detailing when each homework was due, colour coded and co-ordinated too. Honestly, Chloé was quite proud of it.

“Okay, fine.” Marinette rolled her eyes as she finally got the correct answer to question seven, looking to Chloé for confirmation and receiving an approving nod. “Tell you what, we finish this and we can do something fun.” Chloé cocked her head in confusion and thought. They’d never actually done anything together outside of their deal. Why was Marinette suggesting this?

“Okaaaaay…” Chloé agreed warily, she would be lying if she wasn’t intrigued by the idea of having fun with Marinette. Within a few minutes had finished the worksheet, leaving Marinette agog. “What?”

“How did you do that?” The dark-haired girl asked in a slightly stunned voice, making Chloé blush and her fingers start tapping out a comforting rhythm.

“It was easy?” She tried, not sure why she was feeling embarrassed about this.

“You mean you could’ve completed all the work in ten minutes yet you spent the last half an hour whining about it?”

“I said it was boring, not that it was hard.” Chloé defended, unable to meet Marinette’s eyes. “I already know it.”

“How else will the teachers know that?” Marinette asked, and Chloé couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

“Because I get top marks in the end of year exams and the only person who does better is Max. But comparing myself to someone who made an A.I. is ridiculous, utterly ridi-.” She shut her mouth with a snap, remembering her promise to herself not to use her mother’s phrasing. Although it was patently absurd that a fourteen-year-old had made a self-aware robot. Then again, when Paris was frequently attacked by a supervillain and was saved by superheroes empowered by tiny god-like creatures, absurd was a relative term.

“Anyway…” Marinette broke the awkward silence that had followed after Chloé stopped herself from speaking. “You’ve done it now, so I guess it’s a moot point.”

“I suppose…” Chloé wasn’t sure why it still felt like she lost the argument, but her hurt feelings were mollified as Marinette continued.

“Let me just finish this whilst you decide what we can do.” It was a blatant attempt to keep Chloé happy, and it absolutely worked, as the blonde hummed in thought, racking her brains for something. They could paint each other’s nails, but Chloé wasn’t sure she had any colours that complemented Marinette’s clothes. Mentally filing that thought away for another occasion, Chloé thought through all the things she normally did with Adrien and Sabrina. Watch clips of Ladybug? No, Marinette would think she was weird for putting together those compilations. Ladybug cosplay? Definitely not, if she’d think Chloé was weird for making Ladybug compilations, she’d think she was even weirder for cosplaying as the heroine.

As she considered her options, she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. Putting a hold on her latest idea of going swimming in the hotel pool, Chloé pulled out her phone, swiped open the notification and let a high pitched squeal.

“Ack!” Marinette jerked back, startled by Chloé’s sudden excitement.

“It’s happening!” Chloé squealed, scrambling to her feet and running for her tablet.

“What’s happening?” Marinette asked in deep confusion, getting up and following Chloé to her bed. Chloé was sprawled out, hands flapping with excitement, which made opening up her browser quite difficult.

“The release date for the new series of Princess Yuri has been announced!” She squeaked in high pitched glee, legs kicking in the air as she finally managed to head to the official announcement.

“Princess Yuri, that sounds familiar...” Marinette sat on the bed beside Chloé, peering over her shoulder at the tablet.

“It’s only, like, the best manga series there is!” the blonde girl gushed as she scrolled down, soaking up the information. She let out another excited squeal, hands flapping even more as she saw the key art with the series title, ‘Princess Yuri: Kokoro no Uta’.

“That’s the one with the demon-fighting princess or something right?” Marinette asked, examining the art of Princess Yuri and her best friend, Mari, back-to-back with their fingers intertwined as the Demon King loomed over them.

“That could be any number of series.” Chloé scoffed at the loose description of the masterpiece that was Princess Yuri. “You could be talking about Bone Witches, Mermaid Princess: Cyclone...” Chloé listed off all the series she could think of that had a princess and demons, sitting up a little to talk properly.

“You could argue the villains of Symphonic Hearts are demons because they’re manifestations of people’s darkest desires and you could technically describe them as personal demons, but that’s a fairly basic interpretation and-.” Chloé froze mid-sentence, realising she’d started rambling about manga again. Only this time it wasn’t in front of Sabrina or Adrien, who understood, or at least humoured, her fixation, but  _ Marinette _ . People weren’t supposed to know about her interest, she was supposed to have normal teenage girl hobbies, like fashion and ponies or something.

All her excitement about Princess Yuri drained away and was replaced with cold dread as she abruptly stopped flapping and kicking. Marinette was going to tell the whole class about her obsession and her image would be ruined and Papa’s reputation would be hurt and-.

“Chloé? Are you okay?” Her head snapped around to meet Marinette’s gaze and was surprised to see that her eyes hadn’t glazed over, like Sabrina’s and Adrien's would, but instead were looking at her in concern. “You just stopped talking.”

“What?”

“You were really excited and telling me about this Symphonic Hearts series, then you sort of froze up.”

“You were listening?” Chloé squeaked, flushing with embarrassment.

“Of course I was.” The dark-haired girl cocked her head in confusion. “You were talking about something you liked and I wanted to listen.” Chloé’s blush darkened and she looked away, deciding that staring resolutely at her bedspread was less mortifying.

“O-Oh.” She pawed at the duvet a little, still feeling awkward about geeking out in front of Marinette. “You won’t tell anyone, will you?”

“Of course not! Why would you think that?” Chloé could only shrug.

“You’re being nice to me. We were mortal enemies not thirteen days ago and we’re only spending time together because of our deal. I’m still not convinced it’s not a trick of some sort.” She dared to glance up at Marinette and was surprised to see her looking so affronted.

“You think I’d trick you? I’m not Lila, Chloé.” She said in a wounded tone. “I’m not like you used to be, trying to manipulate people.”

“Gee, thanks.” The blonde muttered sarcastically, but unable to refute the point as she looked away again.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.” Marinette apologised, and Chloé noticed out of the corner of her eye one of the dark-haired girl’s hands move towards her own before hesitating and retreating. “I just meant that this isn’t some sort of trick, and I’m not just spending time with you because of our deal either.”

“I don’t understand.” This was very confusing, if Marinette wasn’t spending time with her because of the arrangement they’d made, then why was she? Was it for Chloé’s money? But Chloé hadn’t needed to give her any gifts yet to apologise for her behaviour.

“I like spending time with you?” Marinette sounded just as perplexed. “Is that a hard concept to understand?”

“But, mortal enemies?” Chloé tried weakly, studiously avoiding looking at the other girl. She really wanted something to hug, but that was something else she wasn’t supposed to do in front of people.

“We established that was based on several misunderstandings.” Marinette explained patiently. “And we’ve both been working on the parts that weren’t. You’ve been helping me try to be more organised and you’ve been trying to be a better person and nicer to people, and you’ve been doing really well with it.”

“I have?”

“Yes, you’re being polite to people. I can’t remember the last time you shouted at someone, and you stopped me from trying to sabotage Adrien’s relationship with Kagami.”

“That still doesn’t explain why you would like to spend time with me.” Chloé was still baffled by this turn of events. Had she slipped into some reverse dimension or something?

“Well, if you take away the sniping and the bitchiness, you’re a fun person to spend time with.” Marinette explained, tilting her head. “You’re smart and funny and it’s cute when you get excited about things.” She stopped abruptly and her face flushed as Chloé felt her own cheeks get even warmer.

“I-I…” What was she supposed to say? Nobody had called her cute before, especially not because of one of her quirks. Marinette, it seemed, was in a similar position, stammering out fragments of words herself and blushing furiously.

They were saved from having to answer by a sharp knocking at the suite door. Taking the opportunity to escape, Chloé hopped off the bed and ran to the door, pausing briefly before she opened it to marshal her expression and hopefully calm her crimson flush.

“Sabrina? What are you doing here? It’s not Sunday.” Chloé stepped aside to let the redhead into the room, she wasn’t sure what she was more surprised by, Sabrina showing up on a Saturday when Sunday was their scheduled day or that she was here at all. And why did she have a plastic bag with her?

“I’m not coming in, Chloé. I just came to give you some things.” Sabrina said calmly, holding out the bag for Chloé to take. She did so and peered inside whilst Sabrina looked on impassively, the only twitch of emotion showing when she noticed Marinette watching the conversation from the bed.

“Sabrina, is this the cardigan I gave you last month? And the rose pin I gave you first year of collège.” Chloé looked through the bag’s contents, getting more and more concerned. “Sabrina, why are you giving these back to me?”

“Because I’m done being your slave, Chloé. Lila and I have been talking and she showed me just how awful you’ve been to me.” Chloé felt her jaw drop, this could not be happening.

“Sabrina, I-.” She tried to speak, but Sabrina held up a hand and continued.

“No, I get to speak now. You’ve been a terrible friend, if I can even call you that. You make do all your homework because you think it’s pointless, used me as muscle to try and enforce your fucked-up idea of ‘order’ on the class and you even had me break the law for you.” Sabrina spoke dispassionately, like she was reciting a speech or something. “That’s why I’m giving you back all the things you gave me. I want you out of my life, and Lila said one of the best ways to do that was to get rid of everything that reminded me of you. She wanted to throw everything away, but I know it’s expensive and I’m not a horrible person like you, so I’m giving it back.”

Chloé felt numb, this couldn’t be happening, it just couldn’t. “But Sabrina, I’ve been trying to be better.” She pleaded, fighting back the tears that were beginning to well up. “You and Adrien are my only friends.”

“You should have thought of that sooner.” Sabrina said calmly. “Besides, it looks like you’ve already gotten a replacement for me. I was only hanging out with Lila for a couple of weeks. I didn’t want to believe her, but I guess she was right.” Sabrina glared over at Marinette, who looked incredibly uneasy about now being dragged into the conversation.

“I would have thought you’d have more self-respect, Marinette. Of all people you should know just how bad Chloé is.” Before Marinette could muster a response, Sabrina returned her attention to her now former friend. “Don’t call or talk to me again. Goodbye, Chloé.” And with that, Sabrina turned on her heel and marched away.

Chloé stood there, stunned, not quite able to process what had just happened. With the door open, they could hear the lift door closing with a ding that sounded more like a death knell to Chloé. The whole thing had barely taken a minute, yet she remained stock still for far longer, dimly aware of a shuffling behind her and one side of a muffled conversation.

A few moments later, a gentle hand laid itself on Chloé’s arm and gently pulled her away from the door, closing it and trying to take the bag from her, only for the blonde to clutch at it tighter. Things were going wrong again. This wasn’t how things were supposed to be. Sabrina was Chloé’s best friend after Adrien, she couldn’t just ditch her like that. She wanted to chase after Sabrina, beg her to be her friend again, but she was still numb from the shock of it all, and allowed herself to be guided back to the sofa as her breathing began to speed up.

“I’ve called for some chamomile tea, it’ll be here soon.” Marinette spoke reassuringly, hand still resting on Chloé’s arm. “Try to take deep breaths like you told me.” She nodded mutely and tried to follow the dark-haired girl’s instructions, taking a deep breath in and holding it before exhaling explosively. There was a soft knock at the door and Marinette made to get up, pausing for a second to reassure Chloé “That’ll be the tea, I’ll be back in a second, keep up with the breathing.”

Chloé nodded as Marinette left her momentarily and returned soon after bearing the tea tray and setting it on the coffee table, moving aside their homework. Chloé’s breathing had returned to something approximating normal by now so Marinette poured out two cups of tea, passing one to the other girl as she took hers and settled back on the sofa beside Chloé. “I’m sorry, Chloé. That was horrible.”

“She was right though.” The blonde girl murmured miserably, blowing gently on her cup. “I was an awful friend and person.”

“Exactly, ‘was’. You’re so much better now.” Marinette insisted firmly. “I wouldn’t spend time with you if you weren’t, and if she doesn’t want to see that then that’s her problem.”

“O-Oh.” Chloé took a sip of her tea, to hide her reddened cheeks. Why was she blushing so much today? “Thank you.”

“No problem.” The dark-haired girl smiled sweetly. “Do you still want to do something fun? Take your mind off it?”

“I don’t know what we can do.” Marinette hummed in thought at Chloé’s admission and perked up a moment later.

“I know! You like manga, right?”

“Yes...”

“Do you like anime as well?” Chloé resisted the urge to make a face.

“Not really, the manga is always better.” Marinette let out a snort of amusement.

“Wow, you’re a manga snob.” She chuckled. “Okay, why don’t you watch the first episode of a series I choose and we’ll see if you like it?”

“What if I don’t like it though?” Chloé did not like wasting time like that.

“Then I’ll read all of Princess Yuri with you.” Now that was a compelling offer, although Chloé wasn’t entirely sure why reading her favourite series with Marinette intrigued her so much.

“Okay then, how shall we do this?”

“Does your tablet connect to your TV?”

“Of course.”

“Great, if you can set it up for me I’ll pull up the page.” Nodding in agreement, Chloé set her cup down and made her way back over to her bed, where she’d left her tablet. As she collected it, she noticed there was a text alert on her phone. Picking it up, she unlocked it to read the message and her heart sank.

‘Phase one: complete. Enjoy your life while you still can :)’ There was no sender listed, but it was clearly from Lila. Chloé had no idea how she’d gotten hold of her number, but she suspected Sabrina had something to do with it. Was this what Lila had meant by destroying Chloé’s life, taking Sabrina away from her? And what did she mean by ‘phase one’? There was more to come? For a brief moment, she considered telling Marinette, to ask her for help, but she dismissed it. She didn’t want to drag Marinette into this. This was between Lila and her.

Locking her phone and tossing back onto the bed, she picked up her tablet and returned to the sofa, passing the device over to Marinette once she’d turned on the screencasting. “Right, this is a great series. It’s called ‘Watashi no Majou Academia’ and it’s awesome.” As Marinette explained the premise of the series, worry still gnawed at Chloé’s mind. Just what else did Lila have planned to ruin her life?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so the hammer begins to fall. Poor Chloé, at least she's got Marinette now, right? I had good fun coming up with magical girl series names, keep an eye on Princess Yuri, that'll be showing up again later.
> 
> Big thanks to [machiavellianFictionist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/machiavellianFictionist) for proofreading and being the absolute best.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just as a warning, this chapter contains the d-slur a couple of times, so y'all know.

That Sunday was the worst. Quite frankly, Chloé was surprised she hadn’t been akumatised with all the negativity roiling inside of her. Perhaps it was because it was mostly directed at herself, rather than anyone else. Who knew what sort of villain that would create, some sort of masochist perhaps, who only wanted to take out their frustrations on themselves rather than anyone else. Now that would be a very awkward villain for Ladybug to fight.

Either way, it had not been a pleasant day, mired in her newly discovered self-loathing. If this was what being a better person entailed, then Chloé clearly hadn’t given Marinette nearly enough credit. She’d never felt like this before, and now she had to go through it alone. Adrien was on some shoot, Marinette helped out at the bakery on Sundays and Sabrina… Well, she wasn’t Chloé’s friend any more.

The blonde hadn’t even bothered taking the things out of the bag Sabrina had given back to her. Instead, she’s stuffed it under her bed along with all her manga. It wasn’t real that way. It felt like Mother leaving all over again, except with fewer screaming tantrums and less comfort from Adrien. Admittedly, Marinette had been a big help, keeping Chloé calm and distracted with the anime she’d suggested.

Chloé had actually been surprised by how good the show had been, she’d heard of the manga once or twice, but never anything so positive as to convince her to read it. After watching the first eight episodes however, she had seriously considered acquiring the manga. At least until she remembered that she no longer had Sabrina to buy manga on her behalf, which in turn nearly caused another panic attack when she realised it meant she wouldn’t be able to get the next Princess Yuri.

In short, despite Marinette’s efforts, the entire weekend had been a write-off, and so, come Monday, Mme Bustier’s class was treated to a very grumpy and irritable Chloé. The blonde now sat alone at her desk at the front, Sabrina now sitting with Lila and not giving her former friend a second glance. When Marinette walked into the classroom, a respectable five minutes before the lesson started, she seemed torn between wanting to sit next to the miserable-looking Chloé and not rocking the boat. The decision was made for her, however, by Césaire tugging her over to their desk, throwing Chloé a strangely triumphant look.

The rest of the class went by without incident, although Chloé only took the barest of notes. Why did she have to be here with  _ them _ ? She could feel Lila’s smug gaze boring into the back of her skull as she tried to concentrate on Mme Bustier’s latest rhapsody about love. Everything was just wrong, wrong,  _ wrong.  _ This was all Lila’s fault, not hers. Now that she wasn’t alone with only herself to blame, Chloé felt her simmering rage latch onto Lila.

“Chloé!” The blonde in question was startled by a quiet shout from Marinette. Turning around, she was even more surprised to see that the rest of the class had all retreated from her and looking on in fear.

“What?” She snapped, not liking what was happening one bit.

“Chloé, there’s an akuma.” Adrien garbled out in a panicked whisper, pointing to just behind Chloé’s left ear. Jerking around and tripping back out of her seat and onto the floor, she saw there was indeed an akuma flapping lazily as it advanced on her.

“Stay away from her!” Suddenly Mme Bustier was standing defensively in front of Chloé, much like Marinette had said she’d done for her last year. But the akuma continued, dodging around the teacher’s outstretched arms and continuing its pursuit of Chloé, who was now rapidly crawling away in fear.

“Chloé! Try to think happy thoughts!” Marinette called out to the scared girl. “Think about Princess Yuri or something!” Chloé’s back hit the side of a desk as she steeled her resolve. Marinette was right, she just needed to think like Princess Yuri. She was always scared of the demons, but she pushed through because she was a hero. Well Chloé was a hero, she was Queen Bee and she was  _ not  _ going to be akumatized again! Taking a deep breath, Chloé stared down the flapping butterfly, defiance in her eyes.

“Not today, Hawkmoth. You won’t akumatize me, so fuck off!” She snapped, channelling all her heroic resolve into her words. And to her great surprise, the akuma faltered, hovering in front of her for a moment before fluttering away. Chloé let out an enormous sigh of relief from a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding as the akuma started to circle the classroom above the afraid students.

“Out, everybody out now, before it infects someone else instead.” Mme Bustier ordered the class, pulling Chloé to her feet and helping her to the door as she herded the other students out.

“Shouldn’t we do something? Like call Ladybug?” Rose piped up, looking nervously through the door of the classroom.

“I’m going to inform Mr Damocles, hopefully he will know who can get in contact with Ladybug to fix this before someone gets akumatized.” Mme Bustier told the assembled class. “Under no circumstances is anyone to go into that classroom, understood?” With a chorus of ‘Yes, Mme Bustier.’ the teacher turned on her heel and walked swiftly away towards the headmaster’s office.

“That was a close one, Chloé. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone repel an akuma like that.” Adrien gushed, popping up beside the blonde girl and smiling happily. “How did you do it?”

“It’s because I’m just that amazing, Adrikins” Chloé tossed her hair and preened at the attention, her previous anger and resentment pushed to the back of her mind.

“Oh, and it had nothing to do with Marinette’s suggestion to think about Princess Yuri or whatever it was she said?” Césaire asked shrewdly, and Chloé’s glow of happiness faded almost instantly. She shot a quick glare at Marinette, who blushed furiously and looked away. Chloé was a little hurt that Marinette had broken her promise and let everyone know about Princess Yuri. That said, she had done it to help Chloé and it had worked, so she supposed she could let it slide.

“No.” She deflected. “That was just a coincidence, I have no idea what she was talking about.” Chloé gave Marinette a quick apologetic glance that sadly didn’t go unnoticed by Lila, who let out a snort of laughter.

“That’s not what I heard. I heard you absolutely adore those weird Japanese comics. In fact, Sabrina was just telling me the other day about this Princess Yuri thing. Something about it being about a couple of dykes.” Lila’s grinned triumphantly whilst Chloé cocked her head in confusion. What was a dyke? She’d never seen the word used at all in Princess Yuri. There was a sharp cough from nearby as Alix emerged from the gaggle of students, glaring at Lila angrily.

“Got a problem with lesbians?” She challenged the brunette, arms folded threateningly.

“I uhh...” Lila looked completely nonplussed by someone actually standing up to her and could only stammer as Alix carried on.

“Well? Why don’t you call me that to my face?” Chloé, meanwhile, was still confused. There weren’t any lesbians in Princess Yuri, Aki and Mari were just very close friends.

“Leave her alone!” Sabrina suddenly shrieked, stepping between Alix and Lila defensively, although she did shoot the brunette a brief look of hurt.

“Why should I? She just insulted me.” Alix responded in irritation and several members of the class nodded along, much to Chloé’s surprise. Perhaps she’d been wrong about the class being enthralled by Lila’s tales.

“Uh, guys, the akuma’s gone.” The brewing argument was interrupted by Adrien’s worried cry, as he pointed through the classroom window.

“Are you sure?” Rose squeaked in panic as the rest of the class crowded around the tiny window to peer in, argument now forgotten.

“I think so, but I’m not about to go inside to check.” Adrien said, trying to squeeze out of the gaggle of students. “I’m going to tell Mme Bustier.” The blonde boy finally managed to make his way out and turned to face the group, his face going slack as he did so.

“Alix?” Chloé’s head snapped around to see Alix had hung back from the rest of the group and there was a familiar butterfly hovering in front of her face.

“Shit!” The blonde swore and quickly backed away, looking around frantically for Marinette. The rest of the class had noticed by now and were all starting to scatter with far more screaming than was strictly necessary in Chloé’s opinion. There! She saw Marinette running away to a nearby toilet and followed after her. Chancing a look back, her jaw dropped as the darkness overtook Alix and faded away to reveal the pink and black skirted form of Princess Yuri. She stood there stunned for a moment, seeing her favourite manga character stood there in real life, before breaking out of her brief stupor, remembering this was a powerful villain and she didn’t have her miraculous.

Turning on her heel once again, Chloé ran for the bathroom she saw Marinette disappear into. Technically there were akuma evacuation procedures, they even had weekly drills. Of course those all went out the window when an actual akuma showed up. None of the drills covered the scenario that the akuma was after you, an experience Chloé was intimately familiar. This time however, she suspected the the Princess Yuri akuma was fixated on Lila rather than her. Good. Chloé regretted the fleeting thought almost immediately. She knew exactly what it was like to be targeted by an akuma and, despite her loathing for Lila, it was a horrible thing to wish upon someone.

Crashing into the toilet and slamming the door behind her, Chloé heard a shriek of fear as Marinette leapt about a foot in the air at Chloé’s arrival.

“Chloé! What are you doing here?!” She shouted, before covering her mouth, eyes darting to the closed door.

“Hiding from that akuma of course!” She rolled her eyes in exasperation. “I saw you run in here and figured it would be best if we hide out together.”

“But we’re supposed to evacuate the school in the event of an akuma attack.” The dark-haired girl pointed out, looking harried for some reason, probably the stress of the attack.

“You aren’t evacuating either.” Chloé shot back, entering the room fully and perching herself on the ledge the sinks were set into.

“Don’t you think it’s better if we hide separately then? So the akuma can’t curse both of us.” Marinette protested, sounding oddly desperate, eyes cating around the room.

“It’s Princess Yuri, she can’t curse us or anything.” The blonde scoffed, narrowing her eyes at Marinette. “How come you’re so eager to get rid of me?” A sharp voice that sounded disturbingly like her mother whispered that obviously Marinette hated her and was planning on abandoning her like Sabrina, but she pushed it down. Marinette had been nothing but kind to her the last couple of weeks, even though she didn’t deserve it.

“No, no, no!” Marinette waved her arms wildly, panic clear on her face. “I’m not trying to get rid of you. I’m just worried about you. Akuma attacks are maybe the most disorderly thing out there so I figured they’d be really stressful for you.” Chloé cocked her head. It wasn’t as though Marinette was wrong, but she always found the adrenaline that came with being right at the centre of an akuma attack quashed any excess stress from her quirks.

“I suppose. It never really affected me all that much, even less after I became Queen Bee.” Marinette nodded in understanding, hoisting herself up on the ledge beside Chloé.

“I can imagine something like that gives a big boost to your confidence.” The blonde girl eyed up her dark-haired companion. Confidence had been something Marinette had desperately needed years ago. Of course back then, Chloé had appreciated how much of a pushover Marinette was, made it easier for her to at least try to cajole her back in line.

“It’s more than that. I wasn’t chosen by Ladybug at first.” Chloé confessed guiltily. Although Nadja Chamak had been recording when Ladybug had let it slip that she’d lost the Bee Miraculous, Chloé had gone back later and ensured the tape never saw the light of day. It was the least she could do for Ladybug after all the trouble she’d caused.

“I found the Miraculous and, well, you know the rest.” Marinette nodded, unsurprising really, the whole of Paris knew what had happened next. She’d made a complete fool of herself. “But, when Daddykins got akumatized, she came to me and entrusted me with it.” Chloé smiled wanly and sniffed as faint sounds of chaos from outside drifted into the room. “Even after everything I did, she still believed in me and that I could be better. No one had done that before, not even Adrien, he just puts up with me and thinks I’ll always be a selfish brat.”

“Chloé I...” Marinette spoke quietly, though her eyes kept darting nervously to the door.

“You and Ladybug have been the only people to actually believe in me. And if both of you think I can be a better person, then I know I can be.” She fell silent after that, listening more intently to the sounds of fighting going on outside, various attack names being called out and screams of fear.

“Fuck!” She swore suddenly, smacking a hand against the counter. “I hate being useless like this. I’m supposed to be a hero and here I am cowering in a bathroom.” Sufficiently annoyed, Chloé hopped down from the ledge and made her way to the door.

“Chloé, wait!” Marinette cried out, hopping down as well and reaching out for the blonde.

“Stay back, Marinette. When good people do nothing, evil triumphs, and as a hero, it’s my duty to be a good person.” With that declaration, Chloé flung open the door and strode outside as confidently as she could muster. It was a lot harder to be brave when you didn’t have superpowers, but hey, maybe this would convince Ladybug that she deserved the chance to be Queen Bee again.

It was carnage in the courtyard, students running for cover as Chat Noir and Princess Yuri duked it out, bouncing around the space as they clashed in a spray of sparks.

“You will not stop me, Chat Noir! Once I’ve eliminated that fucking homophobic bitch, I’ll take yours and Ladybug’s Miraculous and make sure it never happens again!” Princess Yuri screeched, shocking Chloé with her language, the real Princess Yuri would never talk like that. Steeling herself once again, Chloé ran forward to see what she could do to help. In her head, she mentally catalogued all of Princess Yuri’s weaknesses, something that might help Chat Noir gain an edge over her.

“Chat Noir!” She called out to the hero as he nimbly dodged a Starlight Pulse. “Princess Yuri needs exactly seven seconds to recharge between attacks, that’s when you should strike!” Unfortunately, Chloé’s advice had the opposite effect and instead distracted Chat Noir. Princess Yuri’s next attack hitting him square in the chest and sending him flying before the akuma rounded on Chloé.

“Chloé Bourgeois? Why are you helping him protect that bitch Lila? She insulted Princess Yuri after she found out you like it.”

“And trying to beat the shit out of her isn’t exactly an appropriate response is it?”

“It’s the only way these people learn! They won’t change any other way!”

“It’s not what Princess Yuri would do!” Chloé shouted back, holding onto the railing to keep herself upright as her legs trembled like jelly. “Princess Yuri sees the good in everyone, even the people who are cruel to her!” Much to Chloé’s amazement, her words actually seemed to give the akuma some pause, enough time for Ladybug to come swinging out of the sky and land a heavy two-footed kick into the back of Princess Yuri, sending her crashing into a wall.

“We’ve got this, Chloé! Get out of here!” On any other occasion, she would have stayed and insisted she could fight, but staring down an akuma with nothing but an encyclopedic knowledge of Princess Yuri had rendered her unable to do anything other than nod weakly and scramble away to the safety of the nearest classroom. Breathing heavily, she rested up against the wall as the fight continued on outside. She would not be trying that again any time soon, at least not without back up from Pollen.

* * *

Half an hour later, the students of Mme Bustier’s class had reassembled in their classroom. Princess Yuri had been defeated by Ladybug with the help of a colander and the damages to the school had been undone as usual. One good side effect of akuma attacks at the school, at least in Chloé’s opinion, was that lessons were inevitably cancelled for the rest of the day. The class all sat in small huddles chatting, although Chloé noticed Alix was sat by herself, until Rose stood up and addressed the class as a whole.

“Before we all leave today, there’s something we need to sort out.” She turned to Lila who was huddled up with Sabrina in a corner. “Lila, you said some very hurtful things earlier, and Alix, you didn’t respond well either. Conflicts should not be left to fester, so we’re going to resolve it now.” Silence fell over the class, but there was no move from Lila despite her clearly being in the wrong. Finally Alix groaned loudly and stood up to face the brunette.

“Fine… Lila I’m sorry I tried to blow you to smithereens with a Starburst Inferno.” She grumbled, though she was still glaring. “But I’m not sorry for what happened before, you don’t go throwing slurs around like that and not expect it to go unpunished.” The rest of the class seemed in two minds about this. Half seemed to be on Alix’s side, nodding along, whilst the other half still looked rather uneasy about the whole thing.

After a few moments of agonising silence, Lila spoke up. “I’m sorry.” She spoke in a reedy voice. “It just slipped out. Daddy used to say things like that all the time, when he and Mom were still together. And I’ve been trying to unlearn what he told me, but it’s hard and I slip up sometimes. I’m sorry.” The girl then burst into tears and buried her face in Sabrina’s shoulder, sparking a shock of anger in Chloé.

It was obviously a lie, the way she’d gleefully tried to tear Chloé down meant it was clearly not some that ‘just slipped out’ The rest of the class, however, seemed to have completely bought it and were all making sympathetic noises.

“It’s okay, Lila.” Rose spoke again. “it can be hard to unlearn problematic things, especially if they were taught to you by a loved one.” This was bullshit, complete and utter bullshit, but the class was lapping it up. Thoroughly irritated, Chloé stood up and slipped out of the classroom. If she were to make a scene there, she’d only be giving Lila’s cause more support.

Growling in frustration, Chloé stalked away along the balcony towards the stairs. Her driver would be picking her up soon and the sooner she was away from this ridiculousness the better.

“Chloé! Wait up!” A familiar voice called out and the blonde turned to see Marinette trotting along after her. “Why’d you leave like that?”

“Because it was just more lies.” She spat, before quickly trying to calm herself. Marinette had done nothing to earn her ire. “You saw how she latched onto Princess Yuri and tried to use it against me. That did not just slip out.”

“I know, Chloé. It’s frustrating to see people just believe her like that.” The dark-haired girl glanced over her shoulder at the classroom. “But you can’t let it get to you. You’ll find a solution, I know you will.” Chloé felt her cheeks warm a little and looked away nervously. There was an awkward silence between the two before Marinette spoke again.

“I’m sorry for letting it slip that you like Princess Yuri and manga.” She mumbled shame-facedly. “After you were so nervous about me doing it too.” Chloé knew she should be a lot more upset with Marinette about the whole thing, but oddly she felt far less upset about it than she thought she’d be.

“It’s fine.” The blonde mumbled, still not looking at Marinette. “It was an accident, and it did help me fend off getting akumatized. Sorry I lied about that earlier.”

“Don’t apologise, you were scared you’d be mocked by people. I get it, you have an image to maintain. But thank you.” Chloé dared a quick glance and was met with a soft smile.

“Come back with me.” She blurted out, before she could really think about what she was saying.

“What?”

“Come back to the hotel with me.” She spoke slower, though her face was now probably a bright crimson.

“But we don’t have a study session planned.” Marinette pointed out in confusion.

“I-I know.” The blonde stammered. “But I want to spend time with you and I thought maybe we could watch more Watashi no Mahou Academia together.” She was fully expecting Marinette to politely refuse, so she was shocked when she said.

“Okay, then!” Chloé’s head snapped back up to gaze at Marinette in awe, sunny smile on her face.

“S-Sure!” A shy grin made its way across Chloé’s face. Why was her heart beating so fast? And why was she smiling so much and wanting to flap her hands? Controlling herself, she led the way down the steps and out of the school, the bitter taste of Lila’s manipulations washed away by an odd sense of joy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would you look at that, an original akuma. I'll be honest, I wasn't originally intending on making any, but my genius proofreader suggested Princess Yuri as the akuma so it had to be done. Also tiny gay Chloé is adorable, this is always one of my favourite parts of stories to read and write, girls just starting to discover they're wlw.
> 
> Big thanks to [machiavellianFictionist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/machiavellianFictionist) for proofreading and being an absolute genius.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	9. Chapter 9

School did not improve over the next couple of weeks. After Lila had wriggled out of getting called out for using what Chloé now knew was a slur, the rift between Chloé and Sabrina had only grown wider. It had now reached the point where Sabrina would refuse to even make eye contact with Chloé, and of course, Lila was watching on with unrestrained glee. It was infuriating being unable to wipe that stupid smirk off Lila’s face, and more than once Marinette had needed to restrain Chloé with a few words of reason to prevent her from decking the brunette right in her stupid smug face.

That had been the one bright spot in the darkness Chloé’s life had become. Marinette was now a frequent visitor to Chloé’s suite, where they’d spend hours watching anime or working on homework. The latter was far less appealing to the blonde, but without Sabrina needs must, and the anime later more than made up for it.

How could Chloé have been so blind to how good anime could be? She’d even found the anime to be superior to the manga on a few occasions where’d she’d already read the manga. They’d already finished ‘Watashi no Mahou Academia’ and Marinette was now introducing Chloé to slice of life.

Usually, Chloé’s go-to choice was magical girl series, but the slice of life genre was growing on her, despite her misgivings that it would end up rather boring. She was actually invested enough to go looking for recommendations. Thus she found herself in the chemistry classroom, waiting for Marinette to arrive to ask whether they could watch the series she’d found together. It looked incredibly promising too, about four girls who try to revive their school’s dying light music club.

Chloé drummed her fingers anxiously on the desk. Marinette was almost five minutes late. Before, such an occurrence would have been both annoying and common. Now that Chloé was tentative friends with the dark-haired girl, she only felt anxious. She supposed it was only fortunate the Ms Mendeleiev was late as well. She was in the middle of staring idly out of the window, wondering what could have happened to Marinette, when the girl in question came trotting into the room and stood up at the front. Chloé breathed a sigh of relief that nothing bad had happened to her.

“Everyone!” She called for attention. “Ms Mendeleiev took ill at lunch and had to go to the hospital. However, with Monsieur D’Argentcourt out as well, the school has decided to let us go an hour early.” There was a small cheer from the rest of the class and a collective grinding as stools were pushed back and the students started collecting their bags.

The irritation Chloé usually felt whenever a schedule was disrupted felt oddly muted. In fact, now that she thought about it, ever since she’d started spending time with Marinette, her usual anger at minor inconveniences had waned and she hadn’t needed to restrain her temper so much. It felt… good? Yet still rather alien, not being angry all the time.

Tucking her tablet into her bag, Chloé got up and followed the rest of the class out, intent on catching up to Marinette. They had an extra hour, that was a whole three extra episodes they could watch. As she descended, she saw Césaire and a few of the other girls gathering around Marinette and scowled a little. She’d prefer not to have to deal with Césaire, who’d also been incredibly insufferable recently for some reason, but the anime was more important.

As she approached the small group, she heard Juleka volunteer for something, much to everyone else’s surprise. What was surprising to Chloé was how Rose wrapped her arms around Juleka’s neck and planted a soft kiss on the taller girl’s cheek. They were French, it wasn’t as though cheek kisses were all that special, but the way Rose smiled up at Juleka made Chloé think it was something more than a friendly greeting. Oddly, it reminded her of Akiko and Mariko’s bond in Princess Yuri. Pushing aside the strange feeling in the pit of her stomach she marched over to the group.

“Dupain-Cheng! I need to speak to you.” She spoke sharply, still not quite willing to let the rest of her class know just how close she and Marinette had become.

“What do you want, brat?” Césaire snapped back, stepping protectively in front of Marinette.

“I just said, I need to speak with Dupain-Cheng, privately.” The blonde snarked, taking small satisfaction in her retort. She may be a nicer person, but that didn’t prevent her from getting a good jab in against people like Césaire every once in a while.

“Anything you need to say to her, you can say in front of us.” Césaire put down firmly, speaking over Marinette, who tried to get a word in edgewise whilst the other girls nodded along. As Chloé weighed up her options, Marinette finally managed to speak up.

“It’s fine, girls.” She told the others and led Chloé away as Césaire glared at her back. “What is it, Chloé?” Chloé swallowed nervously, she always got this way whenever she invited Marinette around and she had no idea why.

“I-I wanted to ask if you wanted to come round and watch anime with me. I found one that looks really good too.” Chloé muttered, averting her eyes after delivering her invitation. Marinette, however, raised a hand to her cover her mouth and looked deeply sorry about something.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Chloé. We just decided to shoot a video for my website this afternoon.” Chloé’s heart fell, but she tried not to let it show.

“Oh. That’s okay, we can watch it another time, I guess.” She scuffed her pump against the ground. “What website is this? I didn’t know you had one.”

“I don’t yet.” Marinette corrected, looking distinctly relieved Chloé wasn’t about to explode. “If I’m going to be a fashion designer, I need to start building up a portfolio as soon as possible, and Alya had the idea of setting up a website. We’re going to make a few films of people modelling my clothes.” Chloé perked up at this a hopeful smile.

“Maybe I could help? I can be one of your models.” She suggested only for Marinette to shake her head sorrowfully.

“I’m sorry, but I just agreed to let Juleka do it, and she wants to be a model when she grows up, so this will really help her.” Old Chloé would have thrown a tantrum and demanded she be the centre of attention and get her own way. But she was a new and improved Chloé, so instead she plastered as happy a smile on her face as she could muster.

“Okay, that’s fine. I’ve got some homework I need to do, so I’ll go and do that.”

“I am really sorry, Chloé.” Marinette apologised again but the blonde shook her head.

“You’ve got important stuff to do, it really is okay. I’ll see you tomorrow, Marinette.” Chloé quickly turned and walked away. She was fine, she was fine,  _ she was fine.  _ She had to be, any negativity could draw Hawkmoth’s attention, and she wasn’t sure she could repel another akuma.

As she left she heard Césaire ask Marinette in a slightly too loud voice. “What did that brat want, Mari?” Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Chloé left the school and pulled out her phone to text her driver to fetch her. It was good Marinette was looking ahead to her future and helping her friend at the same time. Chloé hadn’t really put much thought into her own. Up until now she’d assumed she could coast on Papa’s money and would take over the hotel when he retired, but it wouldn’t hurt to have options.

As she mulled this over, waiting for her limo, she didn’t notice someone sidle up behind her until they spoke directly into her ear. “Awww, little Chloékins all alone. No Marinette with you today?” Chloé shrieked as she spun around, lashing out instinctively with a fist that only just missed Lila’s face.

“Oh, it’s you.” Chloé spat, her momentary panic quickly subsiding replaced with annoyance that her aim had been off. “Is Hell empty? It must be if you’re here.”

“I just thought I’d see how you were doing without your little pet.”

“Sabrina is not a pet, she was my friend.” Chloé’s voice dripped with venom as she squared up to the brunette.

“Isn’t she? But you trained her ever so well. She can sit, shake and fetch. I guess all she needed was a better owner.” Lila’s eyes glittered with smug satisfaction and Chloé could feel her temper rising.

“Stop talking about her like that.” Sabrina may have betrayed Chloé and joined Lila, but she did not deserve to be talked about so callously.

“I don’t see why not, she’s my lapdog after all. She’ll do anything I ask. All I need is the right motivation, a little affection here, a kiss or two there.”

“What?” Chloé was confused now. How did that motivate Sabrina? Lila, however, just laughed, already turning to leave.

“So naive. Maybe you and your precious Marinette will work it out some day. In the meantime, enjoy phase two! Ta ta!” And with that Lila swept away, leaving behind a nasty taste in Chloé’s mouth. Giving Lila’s retreating back a quick bras d’honneur, Chloé turned back to the road, where she noticed her limo waiting patiently. Taking a moment to collect herself, Chloé descended the steps and clambered into the car.

“Take me home, please.” She instructed the driver, who nodded and pulled away smoothly. As they drove along, Chloé mulled Lila’s words over in her head. What was she supposed to be working out? And that was the second time Lila had referred to Marinette as ‘her precious Marinette’. It was all too confusing for Chloé. People were strange and confusing a lot of the time. Things would be simpler if they were all like her, neat and orderly and clear in their intentions. Sighing deeply, she put it out of her mind for now and instead starting cataloguing the homework she wanted to get done. She had plenty of time this evening, she could probably finish it all with time to spare.

* * *

As it turned out, Chloé was getting no homework done. Her eyes were glued to her TV screen as she watched the live feed of the giant mecha rampaging through the Trocadéro. It resembled the akuma Juleka had become two years ago, a theory backed up by how people hit by the mecha’s laser were transformed into copies of her. Of course, nobody knew where the giant robot actually came from, but Chloé had a sneaking suspicion it had something to do with whoever sent that giant moth on Heroes’ Day.

She watched as the live camera swept across the crowds fleeing the attack and her heart leapt into her throat. Adrien was there, and so was Marinette! He must have been roped into shooting the video and elected to do it outside. Chloé’s heart hammered in her chest as the camera moved away to film something else.

“No you fool!” She screeched at the TV, as though the cameraman could magically hear her. “I need to see that they’re alright!” Where were Ladybug and Chat Noir? They should be there by now.  _ She  _ should be out there right now, fighting alongside the other heroes of Paris. Chloé let out a growl of frustration as she looked out the window longingly. Things would be so much easier if Ladybug just trusted her.

“What’s this?!” A shrill voice emanated from the screen and Chloé snapped her attention back to the broadcast to see a leather clad hero vaulting towards the giant robot, a long braid trailing behind her. That was not Chat Noir.

Leaning forward, Chloé tried to see who exactly it was now wearing the costume, she looked familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it… Then it hit her. Of course, it was so obvious. It was Ladybug! Something must have happened that caused her to switch Miraculous with Chat Noir. Chloé’s theory was further supported as a boy with messy blonde hair just like Chat Noir’s but wearing a red and black spotted leotard swung into view.

The scrolling text under the screen declared the two new(?) heroes as Lady Noire and Mister Bug.Not the most inspired names, but they got the meaning across. Chloé found herself transfixed by Lady Noire as she spun her staff to deflect the transforming laser as the robot pursued the pair up the Eiffel tower. She liked the Ladybug suit, it looked great, but there was something fascinating about Lady Noire’s costume that meant Chloé could not take her eyes off of her.

“Come on!” She urged the heroes on. They were clearly having difficulty, both unfamiliar with each others powers. Lady Noire seemed to be handling it better than Mister Bug, more proof that she was far superior to that mangy alley cat, as she activated Cataclysm and slammed it into the mecha, knocking it off the tower and sending it crashing to the ground.

“Yes!” Chloé cried out in glee, hands flapping, as the robot slammed into the ground with a resounding crash. Her happiness was short lived though, as instead of crumbling like everything else touched by a Cataclysm, the machine went berserk, standing up and crashing and flailing around whilst firing its laser wildly. So that hadn’t gone well at all. They really were in need of her assistance. But neither hero disengaged from the fight, and instead managed to clamber onto the out-of-control mecha and pull someone bright pink out through its eye before retreating to a nearby rooftop.

The television camera couldn’t quite catch what was happening on the rooftop, but her breath caught when she saw a stray laser fire in that direction and the accompanying bright light that signalled a successful hit. She released the breath, however, as Lady Noire and Mister Bug launched themselves off the roof after the robot as it crashed and smashed its way down the street.

The chase was faster than the camera crew could run, and by the time they managed to catch up, Mister Bug was already calling out… Rouge Bug? And unleashing the swarm of ladybugs to fix Paris. The camera turned its attention away from the heroes to get a shot of the swarm engulfing various members of the public and transforming them back to normal. By the time the camera returned its attention to where the two heroes had been, they‘d already fled.

Sighing, Chloé stopped her recording and turned off the TV. She’d spend some time later reviewing it and checking to see if any of the footage was worth keeping for any compilations. She hoped so, she had a sneaking suspicion this was a one off and Lady Noire would not be making a return. She was sure Adrien would like to see it too.

Adrien! She’d completely forgotten, she’d been so distracted by Lady Noire and her costume she’d forgotten he and Marinette had been at the scene. She dived for her phone, unlocking it and hitting her speed dial for Adrien. Even if Ladybug, or Mister Bug in this case, could heal physical damage, the magical swarm didn’t exactly provide therapy for the trauma.

“Come on Adrien, pick up.” She growled in frustration, tapping her fingers anxiously on her sofa as it rang, until finally it was answered. “Adrikins! Are you alright? I saw you on the news at the attack!” She gabbled out in worry.

“I’m fine, Chloé.” Adrien replied, but he didn’t sound fine by any stretch. “I just got hit by the beam and hid until Rouge Bug fixed it all.”

“Rouge Bug? I thought the new hero was called Mister Bug?” Chloé asked in confusion.

“That’s not what he called out.” Adrien snapped, before sighing deeply. “Sorry, I’m just a little stressed after the attack.”

“That’s okay and completely understandable.” Chloé reassured her best friend. “Why don’t you come over, I’ve got those nice smelling candles to help you relax.”

“I’ve got to finish this shoot with Marinette.” Adrien said, though he didn’t sound too enthused about it.

“Then come over after, please, Adrikins.” She pleaded, and there was another sigh from the other end.

“Fine, I’ll be over in a little while.” Chloé cheered quietly.

“Yay! See you soon, Adrikins! Oh, and can you check Marinette’s okay for me as well please!” She told him before hanging up. Rubbing her hands together excitedly, she started flitting around the room. She had several things to prepare to ensure that Adrien had the best akuma recovery she could give him.

About an hour after she called, there was a soft knock at the door, rousing Chloé from her rereading of Princess Yuri. She was determined to find out why Lila claimed there were lesbians in there but she’d had no luck so far. Getting up, she skipped over to the door and opened it to reveal a slightly haggard-looking Adrien.

“Adrikins! You look awful!” She gasped theatrically, forgoing her usual greeting hug and gently guiding the tired boy into her suite, seating him on the chaise in the living area.

“I’m just tired.” He groaned, letting himself flop back as Chloé lit a few of her lavender scented candles. She’d gotten them at Marinette’s suggestion to help with her calm down and, although she hadn’t needed to use them yet, they seemed to be helping Adrien.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Adrikins?” Chloé asked once she’d finished and settled herself on the other end of the chaise. “Because you’ve been in akuma attacks before, but I’ve never seen you like this.”

Adrien hummed in thought for a while before answering. “I don’t know, I just feel… out of sorts.” He looked up at his friend. “Have you ever had an experience that made you question yourself on a deep personal level?”

“Yes, I have, it was meeting my mother for the first time in ten years.” Chloé deadpanned, earning a soft chuckle from Adrien.

“She is quite a character, isn’t she?” Adrien fell silent again, staring up at the ceiling in thought.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Chloé asked tentatively and Adrien shook his head.

“Not really, I want to try and sort it out in my head first. But, um… Would you mind painting my nails for me? I find it relaxing.”

“Sure, Adrikins!” Chloé hopped up and retrieved her basket of nail polishes and began sorting through them. “Any colour you’d like?”

“Can I try a mix of red and black?” He asked quietly and Chloé hummed an affirmative, picking out a nice deep blood red and one of her better quality black polishes. Humming one of the OPs from Watashi no Mahou Academia, Chloé got to work, letting herself get lost in the relaxing motions and letting it wash away the anxieties of the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of things are happening and there's a lot to unpack here. Chloé is so adorable starting to crush on Marinette, even if she has no idea that she is. Poor Sabrina, whatever's going on between her and Lila, it's clearly very unhealthy and she's almost certainly going to get hurt. And I wonder what's up with Adrien, I'm sure it's nothing.
> 
> Big thanks to [machiavellianFicionist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/machiavellianFictionist) for proofreading and just being the sweetest.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	10. Chapter 10

“Mariko and Akiko seem very close.” Chloé looked up from the essay she was struggling with at Marinette, who was sprawled across the chaise reading a borrowed copy of Princess Yuri vol. 1. In a change of pace from their usual meeting spot of Chloé’s suite, they’d decided to work in Marinette’s now much tidier room.

“Well, yes, they are best friends after all.” Chloé pointed out as though it were blindingly obvious, which it was.

“I know, but not even Alya and I are that clingy.”

“Please, you regularly drape yourself over Césaire like you’re some kind of shrug.” The blonde scoffed, not entirely sure what Marinette’s point was. “Anyway, manga is just like that. It’s called skinship or something, all the girls do it.”

“I’m familiar with the concept. I don’t know, this just seems… more.” Chloé frowned at Marinette, now completely lost. “Forget it, I’m probably just imagining things.” This didn’t exactly reassure Chloé, but she let it go and returned her attention to her essay. She had no idea how Marinette was able to finish these things so quickly, but when asked the dark-haired girl had just shrugged and said it was easy, before pointing out this was how she felt whenever she watched Chloé complete their maths homework in record time.

It was so frustrating. Chloé wasn’t good with words. Sure, she could plan out an essay, that part was easy, but writing the damn thing? She was completely useless, and it was incredibly frustrating, especially when she had Marinette over and they could do anything fun together whilst Chloé hadn’t finished her homework for the day.

Not for the first time that afternoon, Chloé silently cursed Ms Jean for setting such an aggravatingly difficult essay. She’d been working at it constantly for the last hour and she couldn’t take it anymore.

“That’s it!” She announced, standing up abruptly and startling Marinette. who’d become re-engrossed in the manga, into nearly toppling off the chaise.

“What’s it?” The dark-haired girl asked, a little nonplussed as she looked up at the agitated blonde.

“I’ve been working at this thing for ages and gotten barely anything done on it. I’m going to go crazy if I stay here like this.” She paused in consideration for a moment before tacking on. “Crazier than usual, that is.”

“You’re not crazy, Chloé.” Marinette said firmly as she marked her place in the manga and set it down. Chloé merely regarded her with a sceptical expression, so the dark-haired girl doubled down on her point. “It’s true, Chloé. You’re just a little different. In a good way!” She added the last part on when she noticed Chloé begin to frown at being called different.

“Yes, because having freakouts is a good thing.” She didn’t need to be coddled by Marinette, she was well aware there was something wrong with her and no amount of sugar coating would change that. “I don’t want to talk about it any more, I just want to take a break.”

Marinette didn’t look particularly happy at Chloé’s deflection, but nodded slowly in agreement. “You’re right. If you’re stuck, a break will do you good.” She got up and stretched out, her shirt riding up a little as she did so. and Chloé couldn’t help but notice that her belly was a lot more toned nowadays than she had before collège. Come to think of it, Marinette had seemed a lot fitter overall as well. Perhaps she’d taken up an exercise routine. Maybe she should start exercising more as well. Ever since she’d left her gymnastics class over a ‘difference of opinion’ regarding appropriate music to be played in the gym, Chloé hadn’t been exercising.

“Do you want to get a breath of fresh air?” Marinette asked, bringing Chloé back to reality.

“Yes, anything to get out of this room for a bit.” She hadn’t realised how her words might be taken until a few seconds later, when she looked over to Marinette to see her giving her an offended look. “No! Not because I don’t like your room or anything, It’s very pink and actually tidy now.” Chloé flailed helplessly until Marinette let out a soft snort of laughter.

“It’s fine, Chloé. I know you didn’t mean it like that.” She reassured the blonde who huffed in indignation at Marinette’s continued giggles.

“At least you’re enjoying yourself.” Chloé snarked, making her way over to the trapdoor and descending the ladder, with Marinette following after.

“Nooo, I’m sorry, Chloé.” She called after the annoyed girl as she descended through the bakery, only able to catch up once they were outside. “I’m sorry for teasing you. It was mean and I won’t do it again.”

“Fine, I suppose I’ll accept your apology.” Chloé sniffed, her haughty expression softening as Marinette beamed at her. “So, what do you propose we do now that we are in the fresh air?”

“We could go for a walk around the park?” the dark-haired girl suggested, gesturing to the greenery across the road. “The weather’s pretty good.” It was a rather pleasant day for early November and the winter chill had yet to set in properly.

“I suppose it could be fun.” Chloé agreed and followed Marinette to the park gate. She’d rarely visited this park, despite it being so close to the school. She saw little point in it, just some grass and plants and a carousel, yet walking leisurely side by side with Marinette around the perimeter was rather pleasant.

“I’m really enjoying Princess Yuri. I can see why it’s your favourite.” Marinette commented idly as they strolled along, bringing a smug smirk to Chloé’s face.

“I do have impeccable taste.” She preened, the smugness being overtaken by genuine glee someone else enjoyed her favourite manga. “It’s so good though, isn’t it?! The relationship between Akiko and Pad is so well-written! How Pad is dealing with the loss of the previous Princess Yuri and having to guide Akiko who he blames for her death. Ahhh!” Chloé squeaked in excitement. Then she noticed her hands had started flapping as she’d been gushing, and quickly shoved them in her pockets, looking around furtively in case someone might have seen.

“There’s no one around, Chloé.” Marinette reassured her. “It’s okay.”

“You should have stopped me.” Chloé hissed. “We’re in public, Marinette.”

“But you were so happy and you looked like you were enjoying yourself.”

“You know I can’t let people know about my quirks.” The blonde continued to insist as she silently thanked her lucky stars that nobody had been around to see what had happened.

“Would it really be so bad though?” Marinette tilted her head quizzically.

“Would it be so bad?” Chloé gaped incredulously. “Do you have any idea what it would do to Papa’s reputation if it got out his daughter’s a freak?!” Chloé started to pace in agitation, extracting her hands from her pockets to wring them anxiously. “And that’s not even covering what they’d do to me at school! They’d eviscerate me for this! They already hate me. The only reason I’m still on top is because I don’t show them any weakness and I’m the sharpest person in the room.” This was bad, this was very very bad, she was starting to have a freak out  _ in public _ !

She needed to calm down, but the wheels were already turning in her mind and rolling inexorably towards a freakout.

“Chloé? Can you hear me?” Marinette’s voice drifted through the haze. “I’m just going to guide you over to a bench to sit down, okay? There’s no one around, it’s fine” Chloé nodded choppily and allowed herself to be gently guided over to a nearby bench and settled down on it, where she pulled her legs up to her chest, wrapped her arms around her shins and buried her face in her knees. She didn’t like it on the bench much, too open, but there weren’t any enclosed spaces nearby, and at least the bench was cleaner than sitting on the floor.

“Do you want me to be quiet? Or shall I keep talking?” The curled up blonde nodded to the second one and felt Marinette shuffle a little closer.

“Okay, okay. Um…” The dark-haired girl hummed in thought for a moment before hitting upon an idea. “I think Mariko is my favourite character. She’s always in the path of danger, but she’s still brave and tries to do the right thing.” If she wasn’t still in the throes of a freak out, Chloé would have snorted in amusement. Of course Marinette’s favourite character was Mariko, they were both responsible goody two-shoes, both class rep. Hell, they even had similar names. She wondered momentarily whether Marinette would like being called Mari, like Mariko was by Akiko.

“And she’s so supportive of Akiko when she’s feeling down or insecure about being Princess Yuri. Even though Akiko can’t tell her about it, Mariko is still willing to listen and help however she can.” There was an uncomfortable shuffling from Marinette, then a quiet whisper. “I wish I had a relationship like that."

She fell silent and the pair listened to the trees rustling in the autumn breeze, Chloé unsure of what to say, or even if she was in any state to say anything. She was calming down, however, and slowly she uncurled from her ball to sit normally, shaking out her hands to relieve the tension from gripping her jeans too tightly.

“You feeling better?” Marinette asked tentatively and Chloé nodded, not quite feeling up to talking just yet. “That’s good. I’m sorry for being so blasé about people finding out about your  _ quirks _ . It’s totally your prerogative.” Chloé nodded again, in thanks this time, hoping Marinette would pick up on it. Her gaze remained fixed on a spot on the ground and her fingers drummed out a familiar rhythm, though she didn’t know where she got it from until Marinette asked.

“Isn’t that Death Devil’s theme?” Chloé paused in her tapping as she thought it over. Marinette was right, it was the OP for the series and the band’s signature song. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean you should stop.” Marinette quickly apologised. “I was just wondering.”

“It’s fine.” It was as much to Chloé’s surprise as it was to Marinette’s when the blonde spoke up. “I like the music. Not what I usually listen to. But it’s good. Energetic. Catherine’s VA is a good singer”

“It’s a fun series.” Marinette agreed, shuffling a little closer to Chloé now she was calmer. “Can you play any instruments?”

“Never had the patience. Papa tried to get me to learn violin once. Broke it without even trying.” A frown crossed her face at the memory. Mother had left not two months before and Papa had been trying everything he could to cheer her up, only Chloé refused to be consoled in any way, throwing tantrum after tantrum. It was Chloé’s own fault her mother had left in the first place. Maybe if she’d just been normal, she wouldn’t have been such a disappointment.

“Well, I have no talent for music!” Marinette chirped, clearly trying to distract Chloé from whatever it was she was thinking about. “Can’t sing either. Maman said I sound like three cats having their tails trodden on whilst having a bucket of soapy dishwater water dumped on them.” Chloé couldn’t help but giggle at the ridiculous image Marinette conjured up.

“That’s quite a specific number of cats.” She commented between laughs.

“It’s what Maman said.” The dark-haired girl shrugged, though she smiled widely as Chloé stood up and stretched out.

“I think I’m okay now.” She offered a hand to Marinette, who took it and allowed herself to be pulled to her feet. “Thank you, Marinette. For helping me again.”

“It’s what friends do.” She shrugged off the thanks like what she’d done was no big deal. “I’m happy to help.”

“I’m glad you’re my friend, then.” Chloé was surprised by her own sincerity as she said the words, but rewarded with an even wider grin from Marinette.

“I’m glad you’re my friend too!” And before Chloé could react, the dark-haired girl pulled her into a tight hug. Chloé had no idea what to do, so she just did what Adrien did whenever she hugged him and stood frozen until Marinette released her with a squeak of worry.

“Oh no, I’m sorry! I didn’t ask first and then you went all tense. I’m sorry!”

“It’s fine. You just surprised me.” Chloé said hastily, hands waving to reassure Marinette. “I kind of liked it?”

“Oh? Okay!”

“But could you maybe ask me next time and any subsequent times.”

“Yes, I’ll definitely do that.” Marinette assured the blonde, rubbing the back her back of her neck awkwardly. “Shall we go back?”

“I think I’ve had a long enough break.” Chloé agreed and let Marinette lead the way back through the park to the bakery whilst they continued to discuss Death Devil.

As they emerged from the park gates, however, the conversation ground to a halt as Chloé noticed a familiar bespectacled brunette. She briefly considered throwing herself into the hedges that bordered the park, despite how dirty they were, but that idea was scuppered as Césaire noticed them and stormed over, glaring at Chloé.

“I didn’t want to believe it when your maman said you had gone out with Chloé, but clearly I was wrong.” She spat, enraged glare still fixed on Chloé. “What are you doing hanging around Marinette, you brat?”

“What I do with Dupain-Cheng is none of your business.” Chloé folded her arms and looked away. She did not want to do this right now, she still felt a little delicate from her earlier freakout and this was definitely not helping.

“She’s my best friend, of course it’s my business when someone’s trying to take advantage of her.” Césaire snapped back, stepping uncomfortably close into Chloé’s personal space.

“Alya, leave her alone.” Marinette protested, trying to interject herself between the two.

“Marinette, don’t defend her, she’s clearly using you for something and taking advantage of how kind you are.” Césaire refused to budge and Chloé certainly wasn’t about to back down, despite how incredibly uncomfortable she felt.

“Alya, she’s not using me. Do you think I’m so naïve as to not realise when I’m being taken advantage of?” Marinette asked, folding her arms as she stopped trying to get between the arguing pair.

“No! Of course not! But this is Chloé we’re talking about, you know how much of a sneaky bitch she can be.”

“She is not!” Marinette contested hotly, now glaring at Alya. “She just needs a friend since Sabrina left her.” Chloé wasn’t entirely happy with Marinette telling Alya they were friends, though it was washed away when Césaire shot back.

“That’s a good thing! She’s free from Chloé’s toxic influence now.”

“Alya! How could you say that!?”

“What? Like you weren’t saying the same two years ago when Sabrina was your partner for that project and you got her away from Chloé for a while.” Chloé remembered that incident, it hadn’t been fun.

“That was then, Chloé’s changed now.” Marinette insisted, refusing to budge in her defence of Chloé. Unfortunately, neither did Césaire, whose face fell and she sighed.

“I was afraid this would happen. When Sabrina said she’d seen you at the hotel when she went to give Chloé her stuff back, I hoped it was just a one off. I hadn’t realised she’d gotten her hooks into you.” Césaire sounded disappointed in Marinette and, bad as Chloé was with reading people, she could tell Marinette was hurt by this. She meanwhile latched onto something else Césaire mentioned.

“How come you know Sabrina came to my suite to return my stuff and that Marinette was there?” She asked, startling Césaire, who seemed to have momentarily forgotten Chloé was there.

“If you must know, I wanted to know how my speech worked out.” She sniffed.

“Your speech?” Marinette’s frown deepened as she continued to glare at her friend.

Césaire shrugged nonchalantly. “Lila said Sabrina wanted to make a break with Chloé but didn’t know what to say, so I helped out. I did suggest she not give the stuff back, they were presents after all, but Sabrina wanted to be the better person.”

Marinette looked like she was about to explode and Chloé did not want to be here anymore. She knew Césaire hated her, but she never thought that she’d help Lila do this. Not saying another word, She turned on her heel and started walking away towards the hotel. She folded her arms in and clutched at her cardigan in the hopes it would keep her from collapsing in the middle of the street.

“Chloé! Chloé, wait!” Marinette called out from behind her but she kept walking, gaze fixed firmly on her feet. She must be a beacon of negativity right now and for a brief insane moment considered accepting Hawkmoth’s blessing and unleashing her anger on those who’d wronged her.

“Chloé, please stop.” Marinette caught up to her and planted herself in front of Chloé, refusing to let her past.

“Let me go, Marinette.” She muttered, trying to step around the dark-haired girl, only for her to continue to block Chloé’s path.

“Chloé, if you don’t calm down, Hawkmoth will come after you.”

“So I’m not allowed to feel angry?!” Chloé shouted, head snapping up to glare at Marinette. “Not allowed to be upset that that girl just casually admitted to helping that fucking bitch Lila tear me and Sabrina apart?!”

“You are allowed to feel that, Chloé, but I don’t want you to go through being akumatized again. So please try to calm down a little.” Marinette was right, being akumatized was horrible, being trapped inside your own mind and forced to watch as your darkest desires were given form and control over you.

She took several deep breaths, feeling the rushing rage in her head start to subside. It absolutely sucked that everyone in Paris had to suppress their negative emotions lest they become akumatized. She remembered vividly during the summer break one man who couldn’t take it any more and exploded, leading to an akuma who enraged whomever he hit with his fiery breath.

“I’m fine, it’s fine.” She said, releasing another breath and looking to Marinette. “Thank you, again.” Marinette, however, still had a small frown on her face.

“No, you’re not, and no, it isn’t. That was a horrible thing for Alya to do. She wasn’t even trying to help Sabrina, she just wanted to get at you.”

“What did I even do to make her this angry with me?” Marinette sighed and scratched her cheek.

“Chloé, I’m not going to lie, you’ve done some pretty horrible things before. You tried to get her suspended, you bullied me for years, there’s too many to list.”

“I’ve been trying to make up for that.” Chloé mumbled, shrinking in on herself at the short list of her previous misdemeanours.

“I know you have, but Alya holds grudges for a long time.” Marinette sighed, rubbing at her temple. “I’m really sorry about Alya. We could talk to her, make her see reason.”

“No, I think I should just go.” Chloé said, getting ready to continue her trudge back to the hotel.

“But Chloé…”

“She’s your best friend, Marinette. I can’t get in the way of that.” The blonde insisted, walking past Marinette and turning back briefly. “I’ll see you tomorrow at school.”

She could feel Marinette’s gaze on her back as she walked away, but she didn’t call out and Chloé didn’t look back as she heard Marinette turn and return to the bakery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Chloé, it's a good thing she's got Marinette or she'd probably be akumatized a hundred times over with all that's been happening to her. The sad thing is that Alya thinks she's doing the right thing, then again, we all do. Except Lila, she knows what she's doing is wrong and just doesn't care. Something I do want to touch on more that I briefly mentioned in the end is how the citizens of Paris probably do have to keep their negative emotions under wraps at all times given that they could get turned into a supervillain, just one of a few implications of living in the ML world I want to explore a little.
> 
> Big thanks to machiavellianFictionist for proofreading and being an absolute sweetheart, I don't know if I've said that before, but I'll say it again.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	11. Chapter 11

Chloé spent the next week bitterly alone, staying away from Marinette so she could repair her relationship with Césaire. Much as Chloé despised the girl, a feeling that was very clearly mutual, she had been Marinette’s only friend at collège and had helped her stand up to Chloé when she’d been pushing too far.

She’d tried contacting Adrien multiple times in an attempt to alleviate her loneliness, but he’d been mostly unresponsive, sending very abrupt replies to her messages and not even answering his phone on occasion. She’d even tried cornering him at school, only to be brushed off with assurances that he was fine, he just had a lot of work.

Chloé did not believe it for a second. She may be bad at people things, but Adrien did not look fine at all, his face frequently stuck in a frown that he would mask with a cheery smile whenever someone talked to him.

She wanted to help him, she really did, he was her best friend after all. But she had no idea how to go about it. She considered asking Marinette for help a few times, but things between her and Césaire were still frosty at the end of the week, and so Chloé kept her distance. In short, Chloé felt absolutely useless, helpless and lonely.

There was one small consolation to her partially self-enforced isolation. She’d finally identified the lesbians in Princess Yuri! It was the head of the school council and the secretary, it had to be. They were never apart and the only characters who were clingier were Akiko and Mariko. Chloé hadn’t noticed just how much the pair hung off each other until Marinette had pointed it out to her, but that was probably to be expected from childhood friends. There’d even been a flashback chapter showing how the two met as children, with Mariko protecting Akiko from bullies.

In fact, it was this chapter Chloé had been rereading when there was a loud crash from outside the hotel. Startled from her reading, Chloé sat upright and turned on the TV, flipping it to the news. As she’d suspected, it was an akuma, that giant baby again. She watched as Nadja Chamack and her camera crew pursued the over-sized infant down the street outside the hotel.

“And it looks like Ladybug and Chat Noir have called in reinforcements to deal with Destroyer.” The reporter announced through the TV. “Yes, Rena Rouge and Carapace have arrived!”

This was her chance! Snatching up her phone and pulling up the broadcast, Chloé scrambled for the door. She’d prove she wasn’t useless. She’d help save Paris and Ladybug would see just how much of a help she could be and wouldn’t leave her benched like she’d been for ages.

Crashing through her door, she charged for the stairs and nearly collided with Jean-François as she ran. “Mademoiselle?!” The butler exclaimed, dodging out of Chloé’s way as she barrelled down the corridor.

“No time to talk, Jean-François!” She called over her shoulder, throwing open the stairwell door and running up the stairs the rooftop access two at a time. “Ladybug needs me!”

“It seems like the heroes are struggling despite the additional heroes!” Nadja’s voice echoed around the tiny stairwell as Chloé reached the rooftop access door and shouldered it open.

“They’d have an easier job if I was there.” Chloé huffed to herself as she tried to catch her breath, crossing the roof to her bee signal. Papa had thought it a rather extravagant purchase, but she’d spent an entire month wheedling until he’d finally given in.

Throwing the switch, she waited anxiously as she heard the sounds of destruction off in the distance. “Come on, Ladybug. You need me, I can help.” She kept glancing down at her phone, checking up on the progress of the battle.

“Oh no! The Eiffel Tower has been destroyed again!” Chloé wasn’t sure how Nadja was able to maintain her horrified demeanour during attacks. The Eiffel tower had been damaged and destroyed a total of 25 times since Hawkmoth started attacking, Chloé had kept count, although a couple of those times had been due to Chat Noir getting careless with his Cataclysm. It was rather hard to care about the destruction of property when Ladybug would just fix everything once the akuma was defeated.

“And it looks like Ladybug has called her Lucky Charm and it’s… a rubber duck? What on Earth can she do with that to halt this titanic tyke?” What?! No! If Ladybug had called her Lucky Charm, the battle would be over soon, and Chloé hadn’t had her chance to prove herself.

“Ladybug, please. Just let me help, please!” She knew Ladybug couldn’t hear from her position, but she couldn’t just do nothing. She gnawed at her bottom lip as she watched the news feed, hoping against hope Ladybug would suddenly break away from the fight and head towards the Grand Paris.

But she didn’t.

Through her usual ingenuity, Ladybug was able to use her lucky charm to get at the akumatized item from Destroyer and shattered it, releasing the akuma to be purified. “And that’s it! Ladybug has defeated the akuma with the help of all the other heroes!”

“All… the other heroes?” Chloé let the hand holding her phone fall to her side, ignoring Nadja’s continued narration as the swarm of ladybugs swept through Paris. In the past, Chloé would have been enraged at being snubbed like this, but now she just felt… sad? Whatever it was, it felt awful, like there was something missing inside her.

Turning off the bee signal in resignation, Chloé trudged back to the roof access door and made her way back down to her room, passing Jean-François again as she went.

“Mademoiselle? Is every alright?” Chloé ignored the butler’s concern. It’s not like it was real anyway, he was just paid to pretend to care about her. Kicking her suite door closed behind her, Chloé tossed her phone to land on her chaise whilst she collapsed face first onto her bed.

Ladybug didn’t believe in her. No one liked her or even cared about her. No one except Marinette. Feeling even worse than before, Chloé reached out and grabbed her ladybug pillow and pulled it close, hoping for some comfort that never came.

The next day saw Chloé trudging into the classroom later than usual. She’d been up late last night, trying to cheer herself up by reading manga, with mixed results. As she crossed the threshold, she noticed that the class had fallen dead silent and everyone was staring at her.

“What?!” She spat, but nobody answered. Huffing in irritation, Chloé stalked over to her desk and sat down to unpack her stuff. As she did, something light bounced off the side of her head and landed beside her. Looking around angrily for the culprit, she saw no indication of who it was, so she picked up what had been thrown at her and saw it was a crumpled-up ball of lined paper.

She knew she wouldn’t like whatever it was on the inside, but her curiosity won out. Smoothing out the paper on her desk, Chloé was confronted with a crudely drawn image of herself as Queen Bee with the title ‘False Queen’.

“Who did this?!” She shouted, getting to her feet and glaring around the room. Nobody answered, although Alix and Adrien both shuffled awkwardly in their seats. “What the fuck is this even about?”

“Language, Chloé!” Mme Bustier stepped into the room, followed by Marinette, who looked rather surprised to see Chloé stood up and shouting at the class. “Please sit down. I’ll let you off with a warning this time.” With a mumbled thanks to the teacher, Chloé sat down and glared at the drawing, trying to work out who made it. It couldn’t have been Nathaniel, he was good at art and this drawing was too sloppy.

Despite spending the class ignoring Mme Bustier and trying to work out who drew the picture, she still had no idea what it even meant. Soon enough, the double period option and the class was let out for break and Chloé watched the others depart with narrowed eyes. One of them would know, and she was pretty sure who’d be willing to tell her. Collecting her things, Chloé left the classroom and marched over to Alix, pulling her aside despite her protests.

“I need to talk to you.” Chloé said shortly, dragging Alix into an empty room and standing in front of the door, barring her escape. “What is this?” She brandished the drawing at Alix, who took it with a frown.

“This is terrible.”

“I know, right!”

“I mean the line work is dreadful, and the proportions are all off.”

“No, not that!” Chloé squawked in anger.

“I know, I know, I’m just fucking with you to try and lighten the blow.” Alix held her hands up in surrender.

“What blow?” Chloé narrowed her eyes at Alix who sighed and dropped her shoulders.

“Okay, please don’t get mad at for telling you this.” The pink-haired girl scratched the back of her neck awkwardly. “There’s been a rumour going around the class that you stole the Bee Miraculous to pretend to be a hero. It only really started to gain traction today, after you didn’t show up to help against that akuma yesterday.”

Chloé just gaped soundlessly at Alix, who stepped back a little in preparation for the expected explosion. After about a minute, Chloé finally regained the power of speech. “They think I  _ stole _ the Bee Miraculous?!”

“Yeah, sorry you had to find out like this.” Alix waved the sheet of paper as Chloé fell silent again. This was awful, and the worst part was that it wasn’t too far wrong either, she’d found the Miraculous rather than been gifted it by Ladybug.

“How come you’re telling me this? No one in class was saying anything earlier.”

“Oh, it’s because I know it’s total bullshit. You’re kind of a bitch, but I doubt even you’d do something that selfish and stupid.” Chloé scowled at Alix’s not entirely inaccurate description of her. “That and I found out this came from Lila. I swear, that girl lies like she’ll die if she doesn’t.” Alix paused and took another step backwards as Chloé started to tremble with rage at the mention of Lila.

“That fucking bitch.” She hissed out between clenched teeth as she turned to throw open the door. Fuck being reasonable, she was going to cave Lila’s stupid face in for this. “Let’s see her lie with no teeth.”

“Woah woah woah.” Alix slid between Chloé and the door. “Let’s not be hasty.”

“You wanted to beat the shit out of her not that long ago.” Chloé pointed out, trying to dodge around Alix.

“Yeah and the rest of the class was on my side then. Maybe not for the ‘beating the shit out of her’ part, but we all agreed that what she said was fucked.” Alix sighed. “And I’m sorry to say, but the class is all on her side for this one, except Adrien and probably Marinette.”

“What!?” How?!”

“She says she’s friends with Ladybug and that’s how she found out.”

“But she’s not! Nobody’s friends with Ladybug. She’s a recluse, never appears outside of attacks any more after that interview.”

“Yes, well, it’s your word against Lila’s right now, and people like her more than they like you, so they’ll believe her.” Chloé deflated. Alix was right, of course. Groaning, she walked over to the nearest wall and collapsed against it, sinking to the floor. Of course karma would catch up to her, all her attempts to assert order over the class were blowing up in her face.

“So that’s it. I’m fucked. The whole class believes I’m some low thief who went as far as to steal a Miraculous.” Her voice was dull and lifeless, and Alix dropped down to her level, expression concerned.

“Yeah, I’m sorry. It fucking blows. You want me to get Marinette or something?”

“No, I’d like to be alone right now, thank you.” Alix nodded, rose to her feet and left the room, leaving Chloé alone to stew.

* * *

Chloé was alone in her limo as she headed home. The rest of the day had passed at a snail’s pace and was filled with dark whispers and pointing, as well as a couple more crude drawings. She was only just about able to keep her emotions in check as she endured her treatment, which a small part of her brain said she rightly deserved.

Just as the limo pulled up in front of the Grand Paris, there was an earth-shaking boom. Startled, Chloé crawled over the seats to look outside the car to see an enormous humanoid figure made of lollipop. She knew she shouldn’t get excited over the presence of an akuma or whatever that thing was, but this was the perfect opportunity. This could be her chance to prove that Ladybug did trust her and that she didn’t steal the Bee Miraculous.

Scrambling back across the seats and flinging the door open, Chloé toppled out of the limo and into a run, breezing past Jean-François, who was busy dusting some of the vases in the lobby.

“Made-.”

“No time!” She cried out as she ran into the lift. “Come on, come on.” She muttered to herself, jabbing the button that would take her up to the penthouse and the roof access. She bounced impatiently on the balls of her feet as the lift sped upwards and, with a soft ding, released her onto the top floor, where she beelined for the stairwell and up onto the roof.

Jogging over to the bee signal she slammed it on and waited eagerly for Ladybug to come. She’d come this time for sure. Yesterday she’d needed Rena Rouge and Carapace, so obviously today was Queen Bee’s day. But there was no sign of Ladybug, just the giant lollipop monster.

“Ladybug, where are you?” She moaned, hopping from foot to foot anxiously as she pulled out her phone and cued up the live broadcast of the fight. Ladybug and Chat Noir were swinging and jumping around the monster, all whilst Nadja narrated the action. Neither seemed like they were going to break from the fight any time soon. Then there was a roar as the mass of lollipops collapsed into nothing.

“Miraculous Ladybug!” Chloé’s phone announced from the floor, where she’d dropped it. Ladybug hadn’t come for her, she didn’t need Chloé or Queen Bee any more. She really was useless. Chloé reached out blindly for the switch and turned off the bee signal. What a stupid waste of money that had been. Turning around, she was startled by Jean-François stood behind her, still holding his feather duster in one hand and Mr Cuddly in the other.

“I thought Mademoiselle might need cheering up.” He said holding out the bear to Chloé, but she just glared at him.

“You don’t believe in me either, do you?” She spat. “You thought Ladybug wasn’t going to come.”

“Mademoiselle I-.”

“Leave me alone.” She told him flatly, but he didn’t move. “I said leave me alone!” Her voice rose to a screech and the butler reluctantly turned and left Chloé alone on the rooftop, where she collapsed against the low wall, tears springing to her eyes. She was useless. Ladybug didn’t need her, she’d never needed her. She was just a fraud.

She picked up her phone again and flipped it back to her home screen and the picture of her and Ladybug. Had it just been a joke? Was Ladybug only just tolerating her? Lost as she was in her negative thoughts, she didn’t notice the akuma come flapping down and entering her phone.

She gasped as she felt her consciousness pulled inward and down into the dark space she went whenever she was akumatized.

“My dear Chloé, this is Hawkmoth.” Well, no shit, who else could it be? “Ladybug doesn’t believe in you and wants to keep you from the powers you so rightfully deserve. Well, I can give you power! Join me and we can take the Bee Miraculous for ourselves. We can be a team, and your powers will be unstoppable!”

It would be so easy to give in, just let herself go to sleep for a little while whilst whoever Hawkmoth pulled out of her took control for a while. Just give in.

_ No… _

No? But why not?

_ Princess Yuri would never give in like this. _

That was a dumb fictional character, Hawkmoth was offering everything she wanted.

_ He’s lying, Ladybug does believe in you. _

Where was that voice even coming from?

_ I’m stronger than this, I resisted that akuma in the classroom. _

The voice was her? But how? This didn’t make sense. She was supposed to be in control now and be joining with Hawkmoth.

_You’re wrong, I’m in control an_d I say no!

“Get out of my head, Hawkmoth!” Chloé could hear her voice from within the prison in her head. “I am a superhero. I’m fucking Queen Bee! Ladybug does believe in me and she’ll come for me when she needs me! I will never join you!”

The prison broke and Chloé found herself back in her own body, gasping for air as she dropped her phone, the akuma fluttering out and away. She sat there panting and gasping as though she’d run a marathon.

Holy shit, had she actually done that? She’d heard of people avoiding akumas by calming down like she’d done, but no one had ever been able to resist Hawkmoth once the Akuma had infected them.

Shit! The akuma! Chloé staggered to her feet and looked around wildly for the evil little butterfly. If she could just trap it under something, she could try and contact Ladybug to come and purify it before someone else was akumatized. But the akuma had vanished and Chloé was left alone on the roof. Swearing softly to herself, She picked up her phone again and leaned up against the wall, still trying to catch her breath. Who knew rejecting a deal with the devil could be so exhausting?

She remained there for a while, as the adrenaline rush wore off and the disappointment and feeling of uselessness trickled back in. Sighing deeply, she started to walk back to the door back into the hotel, when there was a soft thump from behind her. Her heart leapt. Could it be? She spun around, but her excited cry of ‘Ladybug!’ died on her lips as she came face to face with a tall man wielding a tonfa and covered in sashes with ladybug and paw print patterns.

“Mademoiselle, I have gotten you your powers.”

“Jean-François?!” Inside her head, Chloé was swearing up a storm. He must have been akumatised by that one Chloé had rejected.

“I’m Miraculer now! I’ve stolen Ladybug and Chat Noir’s powers so you can finally be the hero Paris deserves! Now you can be Ladybug!” He took a step forward and Chloé took a corresponding step back. Dealing with akumas could be very dangerous, they tended to be incredibly volatile.

“Not like this. I’m supposed to earn my powers, not steal them. And besides, I’m not supposed to be Ladybug. There’s only one and that’s not me. I’m-.”

“Queen Bee!” A voice called out, startling both Miraculer and Chloé who both looked over to see Chat Noir holding out the Bee Miraculous. Right in front of the akuma.

“No, you mangy alley cat!” She cried out, diving forward to snatch the Miraculous before Miraculer could make a move. Just as she was about to grab it from Chat Noir’s grasp, something blue swept in and snatched it first, landing beside Miraculer.

“Hey!” Chat Noir called out as Chloé rounded on the pair.

“Who the fuck are you?” She ignored Chat Noir and Miraculer’s gasps at her language, it had been a very long and tiring day and she was in no mood for self-censorship.

“I am Mayura.” As if that explained anything. “If you team up with us, your dream will finally come true.” What was it with these villains and wanting her to join them?

“It’s alright, Mademoiselle, she’s with Hawkmoth and me.”

“Watch out, your dream sounds more like a nightmare to me.” Chloé resisted the urge to groan and roll her eyes at the quip. Why was he joking? He just lost a Miraculous!

“You’ll be the one living the nightmare, kitty cat!” Mayura crowed, gesturing Miraculer forwards. Uh oh. Chloé hopped over the wall and dodged behind one of the air conditioning units as she heard the akuma call out for a lucky charm. She couldn’t see what was happening and she didn’t dare look as she heard the sounds of fighting and maniacal laughter as Miraculer called out Cataclysm after Cataclysm. It was so unfair that the bad guys got to use their powers more than once.

She jumped as Chat Noir rolled around the corner and slammed his back into Chloé’s hiding spot, breathing heavily and clutching at his side. “You’re doing a great job, aren’t ya, you mangy alley cat!” She hissed as a Cataclysm blast disintegrated their hiding spot.

“Not helping, Chloé.” He gritted out as he ran alongside her to another hiding spot.

“Excuse me, you’re the one who got my Miraculous stolen! Even without the blue meanie over there, you don’t just wave a Miraculous in front of an akuma’s face!” Chloé was about to continue her lambasting of the hero when something caught her by the collar and pulled her out of sight of the two villains.

“Ack!” She squawked indignantly, only to breathe a sigh of relief when she saw who it was. “Finally, you’re here! That alley cat got my Mira-.” Chloé’s irritated rant was cut off by Ladybug placing a hand over her mouth, and she had to suppress a squeal of joy. Ladybug was here and she was touching her!

“Shh! I have a plan.” She gestured Rena Rouge forward and stepped back from Chloé. The fox heroine scowled at Chloé briefly before raising her flute to her lips and using her illusion power. Chloé blinked in surprise as Ladybug’s form shimmered and shifted into a copy of Chloé, and all she could think about was how awful she looked. God, those bags under her eyes were terrible and her make up was streaked and ruined. Did Rena Rouge have to make Ladybug such an accurate copy?

Nodding at the other three, Ladybug-Chloé stepped out from their cover. “Jean-François! I’ve changed my mind, Ladybug has neglected me for far too long so it’s time there was a new Ladybug in Paris!” The real Chloé winced at Ladybug’s words. They hit a little too close to home to just be made up. How did Ladybug know about how she felt?

“That’s wonderful, Mademoiselle! You’re going to show Paris what a true hero is!” Chloé peeked out around the side as Miraculer disengaged from Chat Noir, Mayura taking over in the duel, and walked over to Ladybug-Chloé, tapping her with his staff and transferring her power back to her.

“Thanks, I really needed that back.” Miraculer’s face fell as the illusion dropped and revealed a smirking Ladybug.

“You tricked me!” Miraculer yelled and tried to jab Ladybug in the chest again to re-steal the power, but his strike was blocked by a green shield forming in front of Ladybug.

“Hah! Not on my watch!” Carapace bragged from beside Chloé and Rena Rouge, his confident grin fading as Miraculer used his stolen Cataclysm on the shield and forced Ladybug to retreat. As Rena Rouge and Carapace rushed in to engage Miraculer, Chloé noticed Mayura kick Chat Noir to the ground and stamp on his right wrist. Holding Chat Noir down, she leaned over to pluck something from his finger.

Shit, his Miraculous! She knew she’d said she wasn’t going to do this again after Princess Yuri, but the other three were busy fighting Miraculer. There was no time to think, so she dashed out from her hiding sport and ran straight into Mayura just as she was about to remove his ring. Mayura was a fully grown woman and could have easily stopped Chloé’s bull rush, but it came out of nowhere and knocked her aside as the full body weight of an enraged 14 year old girl crashed into her.

“Get up, you mangy alley cat.” Chloé pulled Chat Noir to his feet with a groan of effort from the boy as they stood to face Mayura. The blue-skinned woman opened her fan, hiding the lower half of her face for a moment before nodding to no one and trying to make a break for it. Fuck! She still had the Bee Miraculous. Swearing under her breath, Chloé took off after the fleeing villain. She was  _ not  _ going to lose the chance to be a hero again.

“Oh, no,you don’t!” Chat Noir cried out, hurling his staff at the retreating Mayura, and scored a direct hit on the hand holding the Miraculous, making her drop it with a gasp of pain. Chloé dove forward and caught the falling Miraculous and landing with a painful thump.

“Ow.” Was her eloquent quio as she rolled away from the villain and slipped the comb into her hair. She knew she hadn’t technically been given it by Ladybug, but in such circumstances Chloé was sure she wouldn’t mind. Not having time to greet her kwami properly, Chloé called out her transformation phrase.

“Pollen, buzz on!” It was exhilarating to be back in the Queen Bee costume, feeling the power coursing through her. This was what she was supposed to do. “Hell yeah!” She whooped, punching the air. Mayura had regained her balance by now, but instead of trying to retrieve the Bee Miraculous she continued to flee.

“Queen Bee! Go after Mayura, she’s probably headed back to Hawkmoth! We’ve got this covered!” Ladybug called out to Chloé.

“I’m on it!” She replied, hopping off the roof to pursue the villain. Paris’ rooftops were like a maze, but Chloé was just about able to keep pace with Mayura. That was, however, until the villainess made a sharp turn, causing Chloé to overshoot, and dropped out of sight onto a lower roof. By the time Chloé corrected her course and dropped onto the roof, Mayura was gone.

“Damnit! Where did she go?” She growled to herself, looking around wildly. She couldn’t fail this, or Ladybug would think she was useless! She heard a soft chuckling from behind her and she whirled to see Mayura waiting behind her, relaxing against a wall, taunting her.

“Hyah!” Chloé used her momentum from the initial spin to jump into a spinning kick, which Mayura dodged and followed up with a quick punch, which Chloé also dodged. “I’ll teach you not to mess with the Queen.”

The pair exchanged blows, Chloé slipping back into her practiced kicks and flips whilst Mayura kept using her fan as a distraction. The melee ended when Chloé over-extended a punch and was caught by the arm. She felt her stomach lurch as she was flipped over Mayura to land painfully on her back, and both her arms were pinned down.

“Let me ask you just one question.” Mayura purred smugly, face right up in Chloé’s personal space.

“It’s not as though I have much of a choice.” Chloé snarked, wriggling and trying to break free.

“Do you enjoy being Ladybug’s servant? Having to wait for her to loan you a Miraculous? Wouldn’t you rather have all that power to yourself?”

“That was three questions. And it’s not about the power, it’s about being a hero.”

“If you join us, you can be Queen Bee whenever you want.” Again with the sales pitch. Why were they so eager for her to join!?

“I’m going to have to take a hard pass on that one.”

“You’ll regret it.” Mayura hissed in her face as she reached to remove Chloé’s Miraculous, releasing Chloé’s hand.

“And you’ll regret underestimating me!” Chloé spat, drawing her fist back and punching the villainess hard in the face. She was getting better at this fight banter thing. She squirmed free before Mayura could recover from the punch and used her leverage to swing around to hold Mayura in a lock.

As she looked over Mayura’s shoulder, she noticed something sparkling in the middle of her chest, it looked oddly like a MIraculous. “I wonder what would happen if I took this from you.” She muttered out loud, reaching for the brooch. As she did so, however, she let herself get distracted, and Mayura managed to elbow herself free. The pair faced off again, ready for another bout when, without warning, Mayura dropped to one knee, clutching at her chest.

“Shit, I thought I had more time.” Mayura swore, staggering to her feet. “Another time, then, Queen Bee.” And before Chloé could react, she flipped off the edge of the roof. Chloé ran to look over the edge but Mayura was gone without a trace.

“No! No, no, no!” Chloé moaned, cating her gaze around the surrounding buildings.

She’d failed. She really was useless.

No, now was not the time for feeling sorry for herself. The other might still need help back at the hotel. Shaking herself out of her stupor, she turned and ran back towards the hotel.

She made it back in record time and was greeted with the sight of Rena Rouge, Carapace and Chat Noir all holding Miraculer in place whilst he had a shield around his akuma. Ladybug was stood just off to the side, holding her lucky charm and looking completely baffled by it.

Not that Chloé lacked faith in Ladybug’s ability to work out how to solve the problem with her lucky charm, but it had been a really long day. So she simply stalked up to the restrained akuma, ignoring the others, then cocked her fist back and sent it rocketing into Miraculer’s face.

“Sorry, Jean-François.” She apologised, before punching him in the face again.

“Queen Bee, what the hell!?” Rena Rouge shrieked from beside her.

“Can you think of a better solution?” She asked, drawing her fist back to launch another punch, only for her fist to slam painfully into the shield as Miraculer moved it to protect his face, allowing Ladybug to snatch the staff from his grip and snap it in two.

“See, it worked.” Chloé said calmly as Ladybug went through the motions of purifying the akuma.

“He’s just an innocent civilian, you could have hurt him!” Rena Rouge said angrily, getting right up in Chloé’s face.

“He’ll be fine once Ladybug’s fixed everything.” Sure enough, as the swarm of ladybugs spread out from the Lucky Charm, Jean-François was returned to normal, face unpunched. “See, good as new. I really am sorry though.”

“It’s quite alright, Mademoiselle, I daresay I did deserve a sock or two to the jaw for my behaviour.”

“No, you didn’t.” Rena Rouge insisted, and Chloé was about to argue when Ladybug called for her.

“Queen Bee! What happened to Mayura?” Chloé hung her head as she turned to face her idol, feeling very small indeed.

“I’m sorry, Ladybug. She got away from me. But I’ll get her next time, I promise.” Chloé did not like the sad look in Ladybug’s eyes and what they portended.

“I’m sorry too, Chloé. I should have told you this a long time ago. I can’t let you be Queen Bee again.” Chloé felt like the bottom of her stomach had dropped out.

“What?! But-but.” She stammered, head whirling. “Is this about Mayura? I swear I’ll do better next time.”

“It’s not that, Chloé. It’s for your own safety. With Hawkmoth knowing you’re Queen Bee, it’s too dangerous for you and your loved ones for you to continue.” Ladybug certainly looked sorrowful about delivering this news, though it was somewhat undercut by the undisguised glee on Rena’s face.

“Please, Ladybug. Don’t take this away from me. You know I can help!” Chloé’s pleas fell on deaf ears as Ladybug shook her head.

“I know you can. But your safety is more important. Please, be a hero and do the right thing.” The heroine held out her hand expectantly and Chloé sagged, realising nothing she’d say would sway Ladybug.

“I… I understand. Pollen, buzz off.” Chloé felt the transformation drop and Pollen flew out from the comb to hover in front of Chloé as she removed the Miraculous. “Just… remember I’ll always be here if you ever need me again. Goodbye, Pollen.”

“Goodbye, my Queen.” the tiny being squeaked sadly and floated over to Ladybug as Chloé handed the Miraculous over.

“Thank you, Chloé.” Ladybug looked at her compatriots. “We should head out.” One by one, the heroes left the rooftop, leaving Chloé alone with Jean-François.

Sighing sadly, she started back over to the roof access door but was halted by Jean-François. “If you ask me, Mademoiselle, I think you make an excellent hero.”

Smiling wanly, she turned back briefly. “Thank you. But if I were, Ladybug would trust me to keep myself and the people I love safe and still be a hero.” And with that, she opened the door and started down the stairs to her suite, trying to crush her down her feelings of inadequacy and utter uselessness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Extra long chapter today, and to think I wrote it in one day too. Things are not looking great for Chloé, losing Queen Bee is a blow. But at least she's got Marinette right? She believes in her. I hope the change from Sabrina to Butler Jean makes sense narratively, it was a change that had to be made give Sabrina is on the outs with Chloé. I've played around a little with the timeline of the season, partly because it's so messed up anyway that I can play fast and loose with it and this part makes most sense here than later on as I originally planned.
> 
> Big big thanks to [machiavellianFictionist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/machiavellianFictionist) for proofreading and being such a big help with, well, everything.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	12. Chapter 12

Chloé did not want to go to school the next morning. She wanted to stay in bed with Mr Cuddly and her manga collection, where it was safe and warm. Unfortunately, the world was not so kind, and so she found herself trudging into school bright and early. At least today couldn’t be any worse than yesterday, right? There’d probably still be mockery about her stealing the Miraculous, but nothing could top being benched permanently by Ladybug.

At least that’s what she thought before she entered the classroom and saw a giant picture of Queen Bee pinned up at the front with the words ‘False Queen’. Chloé gaped up at the picture. The image was rather grainy and taken from an odd angle. It took her a few moments to realise it was from yesterday. But how?! The fight against Miraculer had had barely any coverage, just a small confrontation at a park and the Lucky Charm going off. Then she noticed the time stamp in the bottom that hadn’t quite been cropped out and she nearly smacked herself.

It was a still from CCTV footage from the roof of the Grand Paris. But who could have got that, and how? There were stifled giggles from behind her and Chloé whirled to face the class members who had arrived early.

“Who. Did. This?” She growled, gaze sweeping over the assembled classmates. Lila wasn’t in the room, neither were Sabrina or Césaire, which was annoying, they’d been her prime suspects. Nobody spoke up, then the usually quiet Nathaniel piped up.

“What’s the matter, Chloé? Got a bee in your bonnet or something?” A round of giggles at the incredibly lame joke. “Maybe whoever put it up thought you might get a buzz out of it.” More giggles, louder this time.

“Well, I don’t see why you find it all so amusing. This is actual proof that I am Queen Bee and that Ladybug trusts me.” Chloé retorted, trying to reclaim some of her control of the class as a few more.

“That’s not what I heard!” Kim called out and Chloé snapped her attention to him, narrowing her gaze. “I heard that you got so mad about getting called out for stealing the Miraculous you went and stole it again, and Ladybug had to hunt you down to retrieve it.”

“I heard that too.” A voice sounded from the door and Chloé whirled to see who else was attacking her. Of course, it was Césaire, looking incredibly smug with her boyfriend hovering awkwardly behind her. “I bet you couldn’t stand it, people knowing you’re nothing but a thief, so you had to go and steal the Miraculous again to try and prove us wrong, except all you did prove us right.”

“But Alya-.” Nino tried to pull his girlfriend aside, muttering something into her ear, but she wasn’t budging, too busy gloating.

“Not so high and mighty now, are you? You’re no hero.” That was the final straw. Shrieking in pure rage Chloé threw herself at Césaire, crashing into her and sending both of them tumbling to the ground. “Ack, you bitch!” the bespectacled girl screeched, trying to claw at Chloé.

If anyone had expected the blonde to start scratching and clawing back, they were sorely mistaken. There was a reason she kept her nails short, as she formed a first and slammed it into Césaire’s cheek. Chloé Bourgeois was not the sort to pull her punches.

Weeks of pent up rage and anger spilled out as she screamed at the top of her voice, drawing back to throw another punch, only to have her wrist caught by someone. Screeching and flailing in protest, Chloé was pulled off Césaire as Nino helped her to her feet as Chloé was suspended a few inches off the ground by the arms.

“What the fuck, you crazy bitch!?” Césaire spat, nursing her cheek and glaring at Chloé hatefully.

“You take that back!” Chloé yelled, legs kicking in a futile attempt to continue her attack. “I am a hero!”

“What you’re doing isn’t exactly heroic now, is it?” A new voice broke into the argument, the smug and teasing lilt meant it could be only one person. “Alya, are you okay?” Lila asked, saccharine concern now filling her voice as she stepped into the classroom and over to Alya to examine her cheek.

“You!” Chloé ignored Césaire in favour of the architect of this whole thing. “You fucking lying bitch! This is all your fault!”

“I’m sorry, what do you mean?” A smirk slipped across Lila’s face briefly before settling into a look of worried confusion.

“You’ve been lying about fucking everything since you came here, and for some reason all these fucking morons believe you!” Chloé ignored the shocked gasps of offense from her classmates as she finally gave up kicking and flailing in favour of putting all her energy into pure vitriol to spit at Lila. “ _ Oh I’m Lila, I’m friends with every celebrity there ever was! Look at how amazing I am! _ ” She mocked in a cruel high-pitched approximation of Lila’s accent. “It annoyed me enough when you were just doing it to make yourself look better. But trying to discredit me? I’m done listening to your bullshit!”

There was a stunned silence, then it was broken by sobbing as Lila burst into tears. “W-Why are you b-being so mean to me?” The girl wept, Césaire abandoning tending to her own injury to comfort her. “Is it because you’re jealous of me?”

“Now look what you’ve done, Chloé.” Césaire spat, patting the still crying Lila on the shoulder.

“Neat trick.” Chloé sneered, too far gone in her anger to give up now. “Bursting into tears on command is pretty good. But you don’t fool me, and you haven’t fooled everyone either.” Chloé looked around wildly for someone who’d back her up, her eyes eventually settling on Alix, who was hanging back from the group that had now formed at the front of the classroom.

“Alix, you believe me! You know Lila’s been bullshitting us for ages.” The pink-haired girl’s mouth flapped open and closed soundlessly as the rest of the class’ attention turned to her, fear plain in her eyes. When no answer came, Chloé gave up on waiting. “Adrien and Marinette will back me up too! Where are they?” She craned her neck around to see if either was in the classroom, but to no avail.

“Just leave it, Chloé.” Kim’s voice sounded from above her, so that was who’d pulled her off Césaire. “You’re just grasping at straws now, it’s pathetic. Just apologise to Lila and Alya and we can move past this.” It was surprising for Kim to be playing peacemaker in this situation, but Chloé was not interested in peace unless it came with her victory.

“I refuse! I’m in the right here!” She shouted, renewing her struggle to break free. Why was nobody supporting her? She was the queen of this class, and she was actually doing something good this time.

“What’s going on in here?” Mme Bustier’s voice broke through the hubbub as she finally arrived at the classroom.

“Madame Bustier!” Césaire beat Chloé to the punch, moving in front of the teacher. “Chloé assaulted me and verbally attacked Lila, look at her.” She gestured at the teary brunette in question.

“I was provoked!” Chloé screeched indignantly. “She accused me of stealing the Miraculous, and they’re all in on it! Look!” She gestured as best she could at the False Queen picture still tacked up at the front of the classroom. Mme Bustier turned to look at the poster, a frown crossing her face as she did so.

“Kim, please put Chloé down.” The jock complied and Chloé shook out her now quite sore arms.

“Thank you, Mme Bustier I-.” The teacher held up a hand to silence Chloé

“Miss Bourgeois, did you physically assault Miss Césaire?”

“Well, yes. But only a little.” She admitted, her anger starting to drain away a little, only to be replaced with a growing sense of dread.

“Miss Bourgeois, this is a very serious incident. I’m afraid we’ll have to take this to the principal. Miss Césaire if you’d come with me too. And someone take down that ridiculous picture.” Mme Bustier ordered, turning to head out, Chloé in tow.

“What about Lila, Madame?”

“What about her, Miss Bourgeois?” Mme Bustier raised an eyebrow.

“Shouldn’t she be coming with us? She caused all this to begin with.”

“Miss Bourgeois, you’re going to be in enough trouble already, don’t make it worse for yourself by making such wild accusations.” Chloé’s heart sank. This was not how this was supposed to be going. This was supposed to be her shining moment, where she revealed Lila as the liar she was. So why was Mme Bustier looking at her in disappointment?

“But Madame! She’s been lying to everyone ever since she started here, she never went to Achu or met Jagged Stone and now she’s spreading lies about me an-.”

“That is enough, Miss Bourgeois. I will not have you making these ludicrous accusations of one of this school’s star pupils! Kindly be quiet and follow me to the principal’s office.” Chloé recoiled at the sudden shouting as did the rest of the class. This was wrong, everything was wrong. Chloé looked around for some support, but none came. Everything was spiralling out of control. Her hands were trembling as she stood stock still, her breathing starting to speed up and up until she was hyperventilating.

Oh no.

Nonononononono. On top of everything else that was happening she was starting to have a freakout and there was no Marinette or anyone to talk her down. Why was this happening to her? She was supposed to be a hero, she was supposed to win, that’s how things worked. So why was everyone looking at her with hate or anger in their eyes? Wrong, wrong,  _ wrong _ , WRONG!

“Miss Bourgeois?” Mme Bustier’s voice wasn’t angry any more, but as she reached out and touched Chloé on the shoulder, it was like a dam burst. Throwing the teacher’s arm off her, Chloé ran for the door, shoving students out the way as she ran. The voices screaming in her head over and over.

Wrong!

Wrong!

Wrong!

She needed to hide, she needed to try to calm down. Chloé threw open the door to the locker room and ran in, heading for her gap in the corner.

But as she turned the last line of lockers, she stopped dead in her tracks.

It was gone. Her gap was gone. The line of lockers had been moved up to fill the gap.

No. no, no, no, no! This couldn’t be happening, it couldn’t. Stumbling forwards, she tried to slip her fingers between the locker and the wall. It would be fine, she could restore her spot. It would all be fine. She hadn’t even noticed that her gasps for air had turned into sobs as she desperately scrabbled at the gap, pulling and pushing with all her might.

She needed this, she couldn’t calm down otherwise and she’d be stuck in a freakout forever. She needed the dark and the pressure on her. One last time she heaved at the locker, but it refused to budge.

Completely and utterly defeated, Chloé let her arms fall to her sides as she fell to her knees, head resting against the locker. This could not be happening, it couldn’t. As she knelt there, body wracked with broken sobs, she heard someone enter the room and walk up behind her.

“Awww, poor little Chloé so lost without her special little hidey hole or any of her precious little minions. People are out looking for you, but I knew you’d be here.” Lila cooed into Chloé’s ear, crouching down behind her. She couldn’t answer, words refusing to form in her mouth as Lila continued. “Turns out you did have some things I could do to you after all. Even if you didn’t have any friends in that class, they still just about tolerated you. Now? You have no one, Chloé Bourgeois.”

“I-I have Adrien.” She just about managed to choke out, but couldn’t muster the will to move and lash out at her tormentor.

“I’ll deal with him properly soon enough, though he seems to have so much on his plate right now, I probably don’t even need to do anything.” Lila mused, now stroking Chloé’s hair in some parody of affection. “You know, I could make it all stop and go away. I can always use more minions, and you’d certainly be a cut above the rest of the rabble. Truly, you’re actually far more intelligent than I originally gave you credit for. If you were playing this game against anybody else, you might have won. So how about it, Chlo-Chlo? Fancy being my minion? I promise I’ll treat you well.”

In her current state of extreme distress, Chloé would do anything to make this go away. Just end the panic and noise and voices in her head screaming how wrong everything was. “I…”

“Leave her alone, Lila.” A clear commanding voice rang out through the locker room, startling the pair crouched on the floor.

“Shit.” Lila swore and Chloé heard her rise to her feet. Chloé couldn’t move, she was still stuck, both in body and mind, panic and anxiety keeping her frozen in place. “Marinette, how wonderful to see you.”

“Leave Chloé alone.” The voice Chloé now recognised as Marinette’s sounded much closer this time.

“Fine, fine. I’m done with her now. I think I made my point.” Lila’s voice retreated out of the locker room. “Don’t worry though, Marinette! I haven’t forgotten about you.” With that chilling reminder, the door to the locker room slammed shut, leaving Chloé alone with Marinette.

“Chloé!” The sound of running shoes and someone skidding on the floor beside her. “Chloé, I’m so so sorry. I was on my way in, but Sabrina spilled coffee on me and I had to run home and change. I had no idea they were doing this to you.” Chloé could feel Marinette hovering awkwardly beside her, torn between wanting to hug her and respecting Chloé’s wish to not be hugged without permission.

“Do you mind if I hug you?” Marinette asked, as though she’d read Chloé’s still slightly addled mind. Slowly, she nodded, her head still pressed up against the locker. After a moment, she felt the warm weight of Marinette drape itself over her and the dark-haired girl’s face burying itself into the crook of her neck.

“I’m sorry.” She murmured, squeezing the blonde tightly. “I never knew Lila and Alya would go so far.” Chloé didn’t answer, the awful feelings of panic and anxiety were slowly fading with the pressure of Marinette’s hug.

“Not your fault.” Chloé managed to whisper in a cracked and broken voice.

“I should have noticed something, or been with you. Alix told me you found out yesterday, why didn’t you tell me?”

“Didn’t want to bother you, you were trying to fix things with Césaire.”

“After today, I don’t think I want to any more.” Marinette grumbled, gently pulling Chloé away from the locker and rolling them over so that Chloé found herself sat in Marinette’s lap.

“She’s your best friend.” Chloé wasn’t sure why she was arguing for the girl whose face she’d tried to beat in not too long ago. She was feeling so much better in Marinette’s embrace and she wriggled further into it.

“Ex-best friend at this rate.”

“Losing your best friend is awful, and I don’t want to be the cause of that. Please, Marinette. For me?” The dark-haired girl let out a groan which resonated through Chloé.

“One last chance. And no more avoiding me because you think it’ll improve mine and Alya’s friendship.” Chloé hummed in approval, her breathing now having returned to normal.

“Thank you, Marinette. For everything.” She mumbled, feeling thoroughly exhausted despite it still being early in the morning.

“Anytime, Chloé.” The pair fell silent, Marinette lightly rubbing soothing circles into Chloé’s arms.

“She was right.” Chloé spoke quietly, voice still a little hoarse from the raw sobbing earlier. “Césaire said I’m not a hero, and she’s right. Ladybug took my Miraculous and said I couldn’t be Queen Bee anymore.”

“Chloé, you’ll always be a hero, even if you don’t have a Miraculous.” It was probably her imagination, but Chloé thought she heard something that sounded like guilt in Marinette’s voice. She must be imagining it, she wasn’t good at recognising people’s emotions to begin with and she was still feeling particularly delicate. “You don’t need to have powers to be a hero, you can be like Mariko. She’s an everyday hero, wouldn’t you say?”

“If either of us were like Mariko, that would be you, Marinette. You’re always supportive and kind and strong like her. If anything I’m more like Akiko, especially now needing your help and being an absolute wreck.”

“You’re forgetting Akiko’s strong too. Just because she gets scared or anxious doesn’t mean she’s not brave. She’s Princess Yuri.”

“I suppose…” What Marinette made sense, but it was hard to think anything positive about herself right now, after everything that had happened. They fell silent once again, Chloé leaning back into Marinette and enjoying the warmth she brought.

“Chloé…” Marinette said, a little apprehensively. “You know why I was sent to find you, right?” The blonde girl didn’t answer, though she knew it had to end eventually. “There’s probably people still out there looking for you to bring you to the principal’s office.” Still Chloé didn’t answer as Marinette tried to pull them both to their feet.

“Chloé, this isn’t going to go away. Please?” Slowly, reluctantly, Chloé climbed a little unsteadily to her feet. “Great, let’s stop by the toilets quickly on the way. I hate to tell you, but your make-up is ruined.” She nodded and allowed Marinette to lead her out of the locker room and the short distance to the toilets. 

God, she looked a mess. Chloé examined the damage. Her face was red and blotchy showing through her concealer, and she resembled a raccoon with the smudged eyeliner and eyeshadow. Even her hair was a mess, unkempt and rumpled. She tried her best to fix herself up, but there was only so much she could do with just tap water.

She wasn’t satisfied with how she looked, but it would have to do. Nervously, she presented herself to Marinette who gave her a thumbs up and offered her a hand, which Chloé took hesitantly. Marinette once again led the way, up the stairs and around the balcony. Classes were already in session, and Chloé caught a glimpse of her and Marinette’s being taught by a substitute as they passed the classroom. Eventually they came to a halt outside Mr Damocles’ office.

“I should probably get back to class.” Marinette said regretfully, moving to leave, but was halted by Chloé not letting go.

“Stay? Please?” She murmured, unable to meet Marinette’s eye.

“I… I’ll see if they’ll let me stay.” Marinette acquiesced, earning a small smile from Chloé as her heart swelled with gratitude.

Words couldn’t really express how grateful she was to Marinette for doing this, but she didn’t know what else to do. Then she remembered how Akiko would frequently thank Mariko for helping her. It was probably a bad idea, but Chloé wanted Marinette to know just how thankful she was, so she gave into the impulse and leaned in to kiss Marinette on the cheek.

“Thank you, Mari.” She whispered before knocking on the door and leading a slightly stunned Marinette inside the office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that did not go very well for Chloé at all, I believe the term 'rock bottom' would be appropriate even though Chloé still has one last thing for Lila to take from her. At least things can only go up from here, right? Well the next chapter should be a lot lighter than the last few.
> 
> Big thanks to [machiavellianFictionist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/machiavellianFictionist) for proofreading and being such a sweetheart. Thanks too to [Ruby](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RubyAndNanaAO3) for betaing.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	13. Chapter 13

When all was said and done, Chloé only got a week’s suspension. Césaire and Mr Damocles had been aiming for more, if not expulsion. Thankfully Chloé had both Marinette and, surprisingly, Mme Bustier on her side. Both had successfully argued that Chloé had been the victim of harassment which Alya had taken part in and, whilst not justified in her violent actions, Césaire was not blameless in the matter either.

For her part, Chloé had stayed mostly silent, mainly out of fear anything she’d say would somehow be counted against her. Although she was proud of herself for not throwing Papa’s name about to wriggle out of any punishment, despite it being very tempting to do so.

Despite the relatively positive outcome, as positive as a week’s suspension could be, that is, Chloé was still very upset by the whole ordeal. She knew the rest of the class didn’t like her, she’d admitted as much to Marinette, but they’d never actively harassed her before. She hated to admit it, but Lila had been right, she did still have something to lose, and her allies were dwindling. Alix was too afraid to speak up and risk reprisals from the rest of the class, and Adrien wasn’t answering any of her calls or texts.

If it weren’t for Marinette, Chloé would have had no human contact at all during her suspension, and she was incredibly grateful to the dark-haired girl for her company. Every day after school she’d come round with that day’s work and they’d spend the rest of the day together, sometimes doing homework, others watching anime or just sitting and talking until Marinette had to leave.

Every day except for today, at least. Chloé paced her rooms anxiously, glancing at her phone every few seconds in the vain hope that a message from Marinette would appear, but her inbox remained resolutely empty. Marinette had mentioned something about a band practice she’s promised to attend but she’d said she’d be done by 4:30 and it was already 4:47. Clearly something must have gone wrong.

Maybe there’d been a fall out. Chloé knew some of their class were in this band Marinette did design work for. Maybe they had a problem with Marinette and Chloé still being friends. She really hoped not, Marinette and Césaire were still on bad terms and Marinette had let slip that Nathaniel was no longer speaking to her either. Not for the first time, she considered calling to check she was alright, but she didn’t want to seem needy, even if that was exactly what she was.

Marinette had already done so much for her, keeping her company during her exile from school and keeping her mood up whenever she got upset again about the sequence of events that had led to this point. Marinette really was the strong and dependent Mariko to her insecure Akiko.

Groaning in frustration and worry, Chloé flopped down on her chaise, fumbled around for the TV remote and switched it on. She might as well do something to distract her from her worries about Marinette. She could have kicked herself when the news came on and Paris’ favourite reckless reporter Nadja Chamack appeared onscreen, hiding behind a van and reporting on an akuma that had taken up residence on the Eiffel tower and was shooting anyone who went out into the open.

She’d been so caught up in her worry about Marinette, Chloé had completely forgotten to keep tabs on the news sites she checked in case of akuma attack. Of course, this did nothing to all to relieve Chloé’s worry about Marinette. Hopefully she was just stuck hiding out. Hopefully. Chloé didn’t want to think about the alternative. No matter how much faith she had in Ladybug, questionable choices regarding her status as Queen Bee aside, she would never not worry about Marinette’s safety during akuma attacks.

It was natural for her to worry about Marinette, she worried about Adrien too. Admittedly, she hadn’t woken up in a cold sweat after having a nightmare about Adrien getting hurt badly during an akuma attack, like she had for Marinette, but that meant nothing. Marinette was her best friend, somehow beating out Adrien.

A loud crash from both the TV and outside startled Chloé from her train of thought and she rushed to the window to see the Eiffel Tower had yet again been destroyed by Chat Noir. Rushing back to the Tv she watched Nadja take the opportunity to break from cover to try and get a better view with her cameraman.

As it turned out, the risk paid off for her and she was able to get a clear shot of Ladybug, Chat Noir and… Chloé blinked for a moment then scowled as she watched the new green spandex wearing hero entangle the villain’s arm with a small harp, an utterly ridiculous weapon if ever she’d seen one, and help immobilise the villain so Ladybug could destroy the akumatized item and go through the motions of fixing Paris.

Still frowning, Chloé turned off the TV, unable to bear to look at the frozen image of the new hero. Ladybug had benched her, but saw fit to bring a total newbie into what sounded like an incredibly difficult fight. She may be Queen Bee, but in a pinch, she’d be happy to take on the mantle of, well,  _ any  _ hero. Except Ladybug, of course, there could only be one Ladybug and there was no way Chloé could ever live up to her.

But as far as Chloé knew, there was no reason she couldn’t use another Miraculous. Chat Noir and Ladybug had swapped Miraculous that one time, after all. Then the heroes could take advantage of Chloé’s experience with heroing whilst her identity remained safe and she could be a hero again.

At least with the akuma defeated, Chloé’s anxiety about Marinette being in danger faded and she picked up her phone from where she’d dropped it on her chaise. Just as she was about to call to make sure Marinette was alright, it started buzzing in her hand and, think of the devil, it was Marinette calling.

“Hello? Mari?! Are you okay? I saw the akuma on the news,” Chloé rushed, not letting Marinette get a word in edgeways. “And it looked like it was attacking people all over Paris.”

“I’m fine, Chloé.” Marinette sounded off, like there was something heavy weighing on her mind. Although she was normally bad at reading people, Chloé had spent enough time with Marinette to pick up what her expressions and vocal inflections meant. “I was able to hide out until the coast was clear.”

“Oh, thank God, I was terrified you might have been hurt.” Chloé breathed a sigh of relief, though Marinette’s uneasy tone still bothered her.

“Thanks for the concern, Chloé, but I really am fine.”

“You don’t sound it.” Chloé could almost hear Marinette wince at the accusation. “Mari, if there’s something bothering you, you know I’ll listen and help however I can. You can confide in me.”

Several seconds of silence, then. “Not on the phone. Can I come round?”

“Always. See you in a bit.” Hanging up, Chloé immediately went over to her room’s phone and ordered a pot of chamomile tea and some macarons to be sent up. Chloé had grown rather fond of the herbal tea since Marinette had introduced her to it, and found herself drinking it even when she wasn’t in need of calming down. As for the macarons, Marinette had mentioned in passing after the premiere of the Ladybug movie that macarons were her favourite pastry.

Refreshments taken care of, Chloé wondered if it was appropriate to queue up the next episode of Death Devil. Marinette was coming here to talk, after all, not watch anime. Ultimately, Chloé queued up the episode and turned off the TV so it would be ready for later, in case Marinette wanted to decompress after they’d talked. It promised to be a good episode too, the school festival was about to begin and the concert they’d been building up to all season would happen soon. Chloé could hardly wait.

The tea and macarons arrived shortly afterwards and Chloé found herself with nothing to do except wait for Marinette. She was mildly tempted to trawl through the news site for more information about this new hero, but she knew she’d only make herself upset and disappointed if she did so. She considered continuing her reread of Princess Yuri in preparation for the release of Kokoro no Uta in a couple of weeks, although she hadn’t yet worked out how she was going to obtain the book in secret without Sabrina to do it for her.

She was saved from having to make a decision about a filler activity by a soft knock at the door which was unmistakably Marinette’s. Trotting over to the door and opening it, Chloé was greeting with the sight of a distinctly uneasy looking Marinette, shuffling awkwardly on the spot and gnawing at her bottom lip.

“Hi, Chloé.” She greeted quietly, slipping into the room and heading over to the sofa, Chloé following, now very concerned for her friend.

“Mari, you look awful. What’s wrong?” She asked bluntly. Subtlety was pretty much lost on Chloé anyway. Marinette hemmed and hawed for a couple of minutes whilst Chloé poured some tea for the pair. She took the proffered cup from Chloé with a mumbled thanks before falling silent, still gnawing at her lip, only pausing to take occasional sips of tea whilst Chloé sat beside her with her own cup of tea.

Just as Chloé was considering pressing again, Marinette set her cup down on the table with a sigh. “I don’t really know where to begin. Today’s just got me all mixed up about lots of things.”

“Maybe start from the beginning? Did something happen at school?” Chloé’s mind immediately jumped to this being another one of Lila’s plots, but Marinette shook her head.

“No, it started at band practice.” Chloé knew it! The band had gotten mad at Marinette for being her friend. “I was watching Kitty Section practise and making some designs for their costumes when Luka offered to try to teach me some guitar.”

“Who’s Luka?”

“Juleka’s older brother, he’s Kitty Section’s guitarist.” That did sound familiar, she might have seen him meeting Juleka outside school once or twice.

“Tall, green hair?” She asked and Marinette nodded. “So he tried to teach you guitar?” Chloé couldn’t tell what the problem was.

“He, um… I…” Marinette mumbled, cheeks flushing. “I had a crush on him a few months ago, and I think he likes me back.” Oh. Chloé was not expecting that and there was an odd twisting feeling in her chest that seemed oddly familiar. She was very much out of her depth with this, her only knowledge of romance came from her experience with Adrien and that was more than a little lacking. Chloé frowned, unsure of how to proceed, at least until she picked up on Marinette’s phrasing.

“Wait, ‘had a crush’?”

“He’s older, tall, handsome and plays guitar.” Marinette shrugged weakly, fiddling with a teaspoon from the tea set. “Once I started working with Kitty Section and spending time with him, it just sort of faded, on my end at least.”

“That doesn’t seem too complicated, you just tell him you’re not interested.” Chloé wasn’t sure why this had Marinette so disquieted.

“There’s um… There’s more.” Marinette continued to fiddle with the spoon, tapping it against the table. “Adrien showed up with Kagami whilst Luka was-.”

“You saw Adrien?!” Chloé interrupted, leaning in. “How did he look? Why was he there?” It felt like she suddenly had thousands of questions burning to be asked, alongside confusion and more than a hint of annoyance. What was he doing with Kagami when he was ignoring her? She was his best friend!

“He’s Kitty Section’s pianist and he looked… Distracted? Troubled? I’m not sure. Why?” Marinette’s eyes flickered around the room nervously.

“He’s been avoiding me for the last couple of weeks and I’ve been worried about him.” Chloé’s frown deepened as Marinette started shuffling awkwardly. “Did something happen with Adrien?”

“I… You know I kind of have a crush on Adrien?”

“I am painfully aware of your ill-fated infatuation with him, yes.” Chloé answered shortly, the strange twisting inside her increasing tenfold. Marinette ignored the jab and ploughed on with her story.

“I may have panicked a little because he and Kagami assumed I was dating Luka and may have said and done some ill-advised things.”

“May have?” Chloé raised a sceptical eyebrow. She had no idea where this irritation was coming from, she’d been so concerned about Marinette earlier. It must be because Marinette was still pursuing her Adrien.

“Alright, definitely said and did some ill-advised things.” Marinette admitted, a little begrudgingly.

“Such as...?”

“I… It doesn’t matter.” Chloé frowned at Marinette’s deflection, but she carried on before Chloé could call her on it. “But afterwards, it was really weird. Adrien and I had been um, hiding, during the akuma attack and afterwards he told me that he’d worked quite a few things out and that he was sorry for wasting my time. Then he kissed me on the cheek and left.”

“What?”

“That’s not the weirdest bit. He was pretty normal at the start of the attack, kinda withdrawn like earlier, but at the end… I don’t know, something was just off with him. He just seemed so tired.” Chloé had no idea what to make of this but gestured for Marinette to finish. “And he’s not the only one who was off. It felt… strange, like we’d had that conversation before, and now I don’t know how to feel about him.”

Marinette groaned loudly, burying her face in her hands. “Truth is, I haven’t really felt… attracted to Adrien for a while now, like I was just going through the motions of liking him.” Chloé’s jaw dropped. It was as though something fundamental to the universe had suddenly shifted. Marinette  _ didn’t  _ like Adrien anymore? In the meantime, Marinette had continued talking, voice muffled by her hands.

“I don’t know what I feel anymore. It’s all so confusing. One day I’m fixated on Adrien and planning out our children’s names, now I’m just a mess of emotions, and I don’t like it.” Chloé wasn’t entirely sure what to do in this situation, so she just went for what Marinette did whenever she was upset.

“Do you mind if I hug you?” She asked tentatively, wrapping her arms around her friend when she got a nod of approval. “I’m sorry I can’t really help with this, Mari. If it’s any consolation, I know how it feels to be overwhelmed by emotions and not know what to do about it.” Chloé reassured Marinette, recalling all her freakouts and the few times she’d been so overwhelmed with excitement she’d nearly passed out. 

“It does a little, actually.” Marinette mumbled, wriggling around a little into a more comfortable position in Chloé’s embrace. “Thank you, Chloé, for listening and for just being here.” Chloé smiled faintly, that strange tension in her chest starting to unwind for whatever reason, but she wasn’t about to question it. 

“I wish I could be of more help. Some hero I am. Ladybug would know exactly what to say.” To Chloé’s surprise, Marinette broke into soft giggles at her words.

“I don’t know about that. I don’t think a Lucky Charm makes you any better at helping people through emotional turmoil.”

“I suppose not.” Chloé admitted, unable to stop herself from joining in with Marinette’s melodic laughter. They stayed like that for a while, laughing quietly as Marinette burrowed her way further into Chloé’s embrace.

Chloé would never admit it out loud, but she adored having someone reciprocate her clinginess. For as long as she could really remember, she’d been very tactile. She liked grabbing onto and holding things. At least until she got too old for it and Mother told her it wasn’t proper. After that she’d restricted it to Adrien and Papa, and neither of them seemed particularly fond of it, given Adrien would freeze up awkwardly whenever she hugged him and Papa would just pat her head awkwardly.

She’d always been jealous of all the casual contact in Princess Yuri and her other mangas, so it was pretty much a dream come true to have her own Mariko she could happily cling onto and who would happily return the affection.

“Chloé, much as I would love to stay, I should get home for dinner.” Marinette eventually spoke up, trying to squirm out of Chloé’s grasp, but the blonde girl merely held on tighter.

“Noooo, stay here.” She whined, nuzzling her face into the crook of Marinette’s neck, making her squeak in surprise. “We can order room service.”

“I’m sorry, but I promised my parents I’d be home for dinner.” There was a note of reluctance in Marinette’s voice, but still she tried to release herself from Chloé’s grip.

“Fiiiiine.” Chloé pouted as she let Marinette get up, rolling upright herself. “I had the next episode of Death Devil ready and everything though.”

“We’ll watch it tomorrow, I promise.” Marinette pulled out her phone to make a note of it, Chloé feeling a small spark of pride that she was following her advice on keeping her schedule more organised. Stretching and shaking out her stiff limbs, Chloé walked Marinette to the door and opened it for her.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, then.” Marinette nodded then hesitated just as she was about to leave. “Something wrong, Mari?” Chloé cocked her head at the odd expression on Marinette’s face. “Ma-?” Before Chloé could react, Marinette suddenly swooped in and planted a quick kiss on her cheek before withdrawing just as quickly, a light blush adorning her cheeks as Chloé felt a heat rushing to her own.

“Thanks for listening to me.” She mumbled, still quite red and left the room at a quick walk, leaving Chloé to gape at her retreating form.

“You’re welcome?” She called after Marinette once the power of speech had returned to her. Absently rubbing her cheek, Chloé retreated back into her room and collapsed back onto her bed, staring up at the ceiling. That had been… unexpected. Not unpleasant, not at all. The tension in her chest was now completely gone and she felt lighter somehow.

This was very strange and Chloé had no idea what to make of it. Unless… Chloé racked her brain. When she’d kissed Marinette on the cheek a few days ago it was because that’s how Mariko and Akiko thanked each other for things. It would make sense that Marinette was imitating that as well. She’d even said thank you right after. So if she wanted to understand why she was feeling this way, all she had to do was reread Princess Yuri to see how Akiko reacted to check if it matched! It was a genius plan!

Rolling off her bed and scrabbling around underneath, she eventually managed to dig out Princess Yuri: Sonshitsu and climbed back onto her bed. Eagerly flipping it open, she skimmed through the pages looking for the moment. On any other occasion, she’d want to read through the entire volume again. It was possibly the best one too, focusing on Pad and trying to move past their grief, but with a few side stories about Akiko moving past some of her fears. But this was more important and, about halfway through the volume, she found the scene.

Akiko had just saved Mariko from a particularly large and aggressive dog, overcoming her own fear of the animal. Once they were far away from the dog and safe, Mariko gave Akiko a quick kiss on the cheek before running off, telling her she’d see her tomorrow and leaving behind a stunned Akiko rubbing at her cheek absently.

Chloé blinked in surprise, the scene had played out almost identically to real life. Maybe Marinette had read this volume and remembered it? No, that wasn’t right, Marinette was still reading the first volume: Hime no Shi. But Chloé must be on the right track if the manga and reality were this similar. She flipped to the next page, excited to see what Akiko’s next thought was.

‘Her lips are so soft…’

Oh… Chloé hadn’t immediately thought of that, she’d been too busy thinking about how strange and unexpected it had been. But now that she thought about it, Marinette’s lips were very soft and she could still feel their gentle impression on her skin. What else had Akiko thought?

‘I wouldn’t mind if she were to thank me like that again.’

Again, a thought that hadn’t passed through Chloé’s head, but now that it had been suggested, she did have to admit she would not be opposed at all to Marinette kissing her like that again.

This wasn’t helping. In fact, it was only making her feel even more confused. Groaning in frustration, Chloé dropped the manga onto her bedside table and latched onto her plush ladybug. It didn’t feel as good as hugging Marinette, but it would do. She was just feeling this way because it was a surprise, that’s all. It’s not like it really meant anything beyond friendly thanks. Yet despite her reassurances, Chloé still couldn’t quite shake the feeling that there was more to it than that, even if she didn’t quite have all the pieces yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I promised cute fluff last chapter, but we got feelings instead. At least they're pretty soft feelings though as Marinette and Chloé work stuff out. Poor Adrien though, I wonder what's up with him, eh it's probably nothing to do with the trauma of living the same five minutes for three months compounded with other issues.
> 
> Big thanks to [machiavellianFictionist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/machiavellianFictionist) for proofreading and being such a lovely person. Thanks also to [Ruby](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RubyAndNanaAO3) for betaing.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	14. Chapter 14

When Chloé walked into the classroom the next Monday, her suspension now over, she was met with a couple of surprises. Firstly, Marinette had beat her to the classroom. She may not be late to class anymore, but Chloé knew she liked her sleep and would try and get as much as possible. The second surprise was that Marinette wasn’t in her usual spot, rather she was seated in Sabrina’s former place beside Chloé.

“Mari, what are you doing sitting here?” Chloé hissed at Marinette as she took her own seat. “You’re supposed to sit with Césaire.”

“I thought you might want the support.” Marinette shrugged, not looking up from her notes on her table.

“Thank you, but I’ll be fine.” Chloé insisted, gently nudging at her new deskmate to move, but Marinette refused to budge.

“You also missed a week of school and you might need help catching back up.” Marinette seemed completely oblivious to Chloé’s efforts. More of the class started to filter into the room, several clearly taking note of Marinette’s new seat.

“You brought me all the work I missed.” Chloé hissed, eyes flickering nervously to some of the arrivals. “Mari, please move back. You don’t want to hitch yourself to me. I don’t want them going after you because of me.”

“I don’t care.”

“You should!” Chloé briefly entertained the notion of moving herself, but the only place she could move to was to Marinette’s now vacated seat and that was definitely not an option, as Césaire entered the room and glowered at the pair as she sat down alone. “You’re the class representative and everyone adores you. Do you really want to lose all your friends over this?”

“I won’t lose all my friends. I’ll still have you, won’t I?” Before Chloé could come up with another counter-argument, Mme Bustier entered the room and set up behind her desk, not noticing Marinette’s new seat until she looked up at the class.

“Marinette? Why aren’t you in your usual seat?”

“I thought I’d help Chloé with catching back up after her absence.” Marinette answered smoothly, elbowing Chloé hard in the ribs when she opened her mouth to protest.

“How kind of you!” Mme Bustier gushed, not noticing how Chloé winced in pain and glared at Marinette. “Of course, by all means, continue!”

Resigned to the new arrangement, Chloé gritted her teeth as she massaged her side. “Since when were you this forceful?”

“Since I decided to take a leaf out of your book and learned when to not take no for an answer.” Marinette chirped happily, opening up her textbook as Mme Bustier started to write on the blackboard the subject of today’s lesson.

“I don’t think I’m exactly the best person to be taking life lessons from.” Chloé pulled out her own tablet and books ready for the lesson, her scowl lessening a little. It would be nice to be able to spend more time with Marinette. At the very least it would give her more data with which to fathom out the confusing feelings she’d elicited when she kissed Chloé’s cheek. And of course Chloé did very much enjoy Marinette’s company.

“I don’t see why not. You’re determined and brave, and when you set your mind on something, you refuse to give up until you succeed. I think that’s rather admirable when your goals themselves aren’t malicious.”

“It’s strange to think you’d actually be using me as an example. I’m a terrible person.”

“You  _ were  _ a terrible person. Things are different now, better. I, for one, am glad they are.” Marinette bumped up against Chloé with her shoulder, a lot gentler than when she did so with her elbow not a minute earlier.

“Girls, if you could be quiet, please. The lesson is beginning.” With a quiet chorus of apologies to the teacher, Marinette and Chloé fell silent and started their work, though Chloé did notice that every so often their hands would touch accidentally and Marinette would quickly withdraw her hand as though burned. It was all quite baffling, and Chloé spent the rest of the lesson wondering what it meant.

* * *

“Hey, Chloé! Wait up!” Chloé turned to see who had decided to harass her this time, but was surprised to see Alix jogging up to her. School had not been pleasant, the other students may have toned down their open harassment of her, but that didn’t mean they’d stopped all together. But the day was finally over and sadly she and Marinette had to part ways, Marinette having promised to help her parents at the bakery and Chloé not wanting to get in the way.

“Alix? What do you want?” Chloé folded her arms and gave the pink-haired girl a suspicious look. Alix had remained conspicuously neutral in the day’s proceedings and Chloé wasn’t exactly willing to forget how Alix hadn’t defended her previously.

“I saw that you weren’t going home with Marinette and I thought you might want some company.” Alix looked surprisingly meek, foot swinging and scuffing the ground with her hands stuffed firmly in her pockets.

“Really? Aren’t you too afraid of the rest of the class?” It was a low blow and Chloé knew she shouldn’t burn more bridges than she should, but it did feel immensely satisfying to watch Alix squirm a little, to regain at least a small feeling of power over someone.

“Look, I’m not brave like you or Marinette, I can’t stand the idea of being alone. But I feel really sucky about not sticking up for you and I wanna do something.” Immediately, Chloé felt a pang of guilt for her words.

“I suppose you can come back with me.” She muttered, gesturing for Alix to follow her to the awaiting limo.

“Seriously, you travel to and from school in this thing?!” Gawking at the plush interior and bouncing excitedly on the leather seat. “My family’s pretty rich, but this just feels kinda excessive, y’know. No offense.”

“It’s Papa’s idea, he’s rather paranoid I’ll get kidnapped or something.” Chloé didn’t mention that she was also fairly sure that it was so he could keep an eye on her movements, to make sure she wasn’t out and about making him look bad.

“Even so, a normal car would be fine.”

“It’s about image as well. The Bourgeois family have a certain standard we are expected to live up to, a standard of wealth and taste.”

“Sounds like a waste of money to me.” Alix commented as she fiddled with some of the buttons as the limo swept them away from the school. Chloé from a couple of months ago would have responded to Alix’s argument with a disdainful sniff and a haughty dismissal. Now though, she remained silent because, honestly, Alix was right. She’d never really paid heed to how Papa always threw money at problems until they went away, especially not when she was the problem money was being thrown at.

Now though, taking the easy way out didn’t feel like a particularly heroic thing to do, even if it was incredibly tempting at times. The two girls fell silent for a while, until Chloé spoke up again. “Where do you want us to drop you off?”

“O-Oh, I um, thought we were going back to your hotel.” Alix didn’t meet Chloé’s gaze as she mumbled nervously, picking at her cuticles. “It’s fine though, you can just drop me here.”

“No, you can come back, although I’m not sure what we could do. I already promised Marinette I’d work on the physics homework with her.”

“I’m guessing skating isn’t really your speed.” Chloé fixed Alix with an unamused look and she snickered softly. “Yeah, didn’t think so. We’ll think of something. We could always watch anime.” Chloé started at Alix’s suggestion.

“Anime? I don’t know what that is!” Alix gave her a look that mirrored her own for a few moments ago whilst Chloé flailed.

“Chloé, you literally called me out when I was akumatized as Princess Yuri for not behaving like her. Oh, and Lila did call you out in front of the class for even knowing what Princess Yuri is.” Burying her face in her hands, Chloé let out a loud groan.

“Don’t remind me. It was supposed to be a secret.”

“Why? It’s not like Princess Yuri is ecchi or anything.” Chloé did not know what that word meant and wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to either.

“Girls like me aren’t supposed to like manga or anime. We’re supposed to be fashionable and gossip about boys and other wishy-washy things.”

“Yeah, well, I think that’s bullshit. You should be able to like and do whatever you want, not cave to some narrow view society has of you.” Chloé raised an eyebrow at Alix. “Look I don’t like to talk about it, but my Maman’s actually a bigshot CEO and I used to get dragged along to all these stupid fancy parties and was expected to dress and act like some kind of vapid, stuck-up princess.” 

Chloé blinked in surprise. She could not imagine Alix wearing the sorts of dresses girls were expected to wear to high-society galas. “At least until like a couple of years ago just before collège when I cut my hair short, dyed it and stopped trying to live up to this idea of me people have.” Alix started giggling mischievously. “Although, you should have seen the looks on everyone’s faces when I showed up to the last fancy party I was ever invited to wearing the baggiest trousers I could find, trainers and my snapback.”

She flicked the bill of said hat whilst Chloé pictured Alix swanning around the impeccably dressed attendees, being as disruptive as she could. “I wish I could have, it would certainly have provided a welcome distraction from all the awful socialising you have to do at those things.”

“Tell me about it.” The limo came to a stop outside the Grand Paris as the two girls laughed and piled out of the car. The pair trotted into the lobby of the hotel, Chloé acknowledging Jean-François with a wave before getting in the lift and heading up to the penthouse.

“Holy shit, this place is fancy.” Alix ran into Chloé’s suite, spinning on the spot to look around the room. “Big too, and I thought my room was big, but this is way more than I expected.”

“You’re actually the… fourth person I’ve let into my room.” Chloé admitted, dropping her bag on her bed and watching Alix skip through into her living area.

“This place is awesome! How big is your TV?”

“Not sure. Big enough? I never felt the need to measure it.”

“It must be great for watching anime on! Oh oh, what stuff have you got?” Chloé had no idea how such a small girl could hold so much energy as she zipped around the room hunting for the remote, finding it on the chaise and turning on the TV before Chloé could stop her.

“Oh wow, you really like Ladybug, huh?” There was a loud groan from Chloé as the superhero in question filled the screen. Chloé had been rewatching some of her Ladybug footage last night, trying to remind herself of why she admired the heroine after being snubbed.

“I admire her, she’s someone to look up to, a true hero.” Chloé mumbled as the footage switched to her favourite shot of Ladybug catching a car.

“Yes, and I’m sure it’s her great example of morality that you watch these clips for.” Chloé scowled at Alix’s impish grin, but wasn’t quite sure why she felt so defensive about her viewing choices.

“Whatever, I’m sure you don’t want to spend the afternoon watching old news footage.” Chloé racked her brain for something for them to do, she was being a terrible hostess right now. 

“I’m pretty sure you were going to show me your anime collection.”

“I said no such thing, and besides, I don’t collect anime. Marinette and I use her streaming subscription. I collect manga.”

“Lemme see your manga, then! I wanna see the sort of stuff the great and fanciful Miss Bourgeois likes to read.”

“Fine, if that’s what you really want.” Chloé grumbled, walking over to her bed and pulling out the drawer where she neatly stashed her books, save for a couple of empty slots where ones she’d lent to Marinette belonged. “It’s not the biggest, I’m afraid.”

“Size isn’t everything, it’s quality that counts, and any guy who says otherwise is an idiot. Now, let’s see what we’ve got here…” Alix rifled through the collection, occasionally pulling one out to read the synopsis and muttering to herself. “You really like your magical girl series, huh?”

“It’s teenage girls who fight evil whilst still dealing with the issues of adolescence whilst still being incredibly positive about life, what’s not to love?”

“I mean, there are darker magical girl stories, though I don’t see any here.”

“We don’t talk about those.” Chloé informed Alix flatly, not deigning to elaborate at her questioning look.

“Well, you’re missing out. A lot of those get more daring with their yuri content, most of the stuff you’ve got here is more yuri-lite. Except Princess Yuri of course.”

“Yuri-like?” Chloé’s head cocked in confusion. “But most of these titles pre-date Princess Yuri, so how can they be Yuri-like?”

“No, no, no. Yuri- _ lite  _ not like. They’re toeing the line of yuri genre stuff without getting too explicit. Cowards.” Chloé was still confused by Alix’s explanation.

“What’s the yuri genre?” Alix abandoned her examination of Chloé’s first edition copy of Bone Witches in favour of looking up at Chloé in stunned disbelief.

“Holy shit, you don’t know what yuri is?!”

“It means lily, right? That’s why lilies appear in all of Akiko’s transformation scenes.” Alix’s expression was a mix of horror and glee as she clasped her hands awkwardly in front of her mouth.

“Oh man, how do I explain this to you?” She shuffled awkwardly on the spot for a moment, then slapped her forehead. “Oh wait, that’s easy. It’s lesbians.”

“What?”

“Yuri. It’s about lesbians, and bi girls, pan girls... Just wlw in general and their relationships, so they’re normally about romance and-.”

“I’m going to stop you right there. What lesbians? None of these books are about lesbians, other than the school council president and secretary in Princess Yuri, there are no lesbians or bisexuals in these. What’s that look for?”

“Um, maybe try any of the protagonists of these manga and their best friend? Maybe try Akiko and Mariko?” Chloé snorted in derision, dropping down onto her bed as Alix rocked back on her heels to look up at her.

“Come on, they aren’t gay. There was a whole arc where Akiko was trying to gather the courage to ask out Satoshi, remember?”

“I do remember. I also remember how Satoshi was almost identical to Mariko except for being a boy, and that at the end of the arc, Akiko decided to stop pursuing him because she didn’t want anything to get in the way of her ‘friendship’ with Mariko.” Chloé’s face twisted into a frown. Alix wasn’t wrong about that, she had noticed the similarities between Mariko and Satoshi, but that was just because Mariko had several very admirable traits, right? Hell, Chloé had seen a lot of them in Marinette, Mariko didn’t have a monopoly on being supportive and calming.

“They’re just really good friends.” Chloé insisted firmly and ignored Alix’s sceptical eyeroll.

“Yes, my really good friends and I kiss each other on the cheeks as thanks and regularly cling onto one another and give out hugs like they were candy. The series is called Princess  _ Yuri _ .” Alix was about to continue when a loud guitar riff blared from her pocket. “Shit, I gotta take this. Hey, Papa!” Alix wandered off into the other room, leaving Chloé alone with her manga.

It was ridiculous, utterly ridi-. Alix’s theory was just conjecture, nothing more. Akiko and Mariko weren’t gay, and especially not because of how close they were. If that’s all it took, then she and Marinette would be, since they also did pretty much everything Akiko and Mariko did. They’d hug, which would occasionally turn into cuddling, they’d spend almost all of their free time together and each was the first person they’d turn to for support.

Akiko had said once that her life and heart felt complete with Mariko around, and it was a sentiment Chloé could empathise with. How she and Marinette had been at loggerheads for so long now baffled her. She was pulled from her confusing thoughts by Alix reentering the room as she tucked her phone away.

“Hey Chloé, I’m really sorry, I forgot to call my dad and tell him what I was doing so I kinda need to head back home. It was cool to hang with you for a little while, at least.”

“Sure. I’ll see you tomorrow at school?”

“Yeah, I’ll see ya.” Scratching the back of her head awkwardly, Alix headed over to the door. “I mean, I’ll see you but-.”

“You probably won’t talk to me because you’re afraid of the rest of the class.”

“Yeah…”

“Thank you for coming round anyway, it does mean a lot.” Nodding in acknowledgement, but still looking uncomfortable, Alix left the room. After a few moments had passed, Chloé let herself flop back onto her bed, still thoroughly confused by Alix’s assertions. Surely she would have noticed if Akiko and Mariko had feelings for one another. She may be bad at understanding emotions, but manga was good for that, expressions weren’t fleeting and she could actually study them to understand their meaning.

Wait… Hadn’t Marinette mentioned something a couple of weeks ago? Something about thinking Mariko and Akiko seemed unusually close? Chloé had dismissed it at the time, but now that Alix had mentioned it…

Pulling out her phone, Chloé opened up her messaging app and opened up her thread with Marinette. Their last conversation had been about the literature homework that Chloé had been struggling with. Her thumbs hovered over the keyboard, wondering exactly what she was going to type.

Eventually however, she closed the app and set her phone aside. She was being ridiculous, Princess Yuri was her favourite series and she knew it inside and out. There was no way she could have missed something this big. Reassuring herself of this, Chloé rolled back upright and trotted into the living area. Maybe some anime would take her mind off this. She could rewatch Watashi no Mahou Academia, there were definitely no lesbians in that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay in posting, I decided to take an impromptu hiatus on all my fics after life stuff got too much to handle. But now I'm back and ready to get back into the flow of things.
> 
> Things are certainly taking an interesting turn for Chloé and Marinette's friendship, who knows what Marinette's up to with the hand thing, we may never know. I also hope y'all like the extra bits of characterisation I've added for Alix, I always get a little nervous about inventing pieces of backstory that isn't necessarily supported by canon, but hopefully it works here.
> 
> Big thanks to [machiavellianFicitionist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/machiavellianFictionist) for proofreading and always being there for me, I love you. Thanks too to [Ruby](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RubyAndNanaAO3) for beta reading and helping with some of the more difficult bits.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter CW: mentions of biphobia.

Over the next two weeks, as November changed to December and the Christmas break approached, Chloé was beginning to settle into her new routine. Despite her initial protestations, Marinette remained as Chloé’s deskmate, long after the point one could conceivably believe her excuse of ‘helping Chloé to catch up’. Chloé, for her part, was thankful nobody had called her out on it. She was loathe to admit it, but it had been rather lonely sitting on her own. She did feel a small pang of guilt that Césaire was now sat alone, but she seemed to be coping just fine. She had her boyfriend to chat to and he seemed to welcome it, owing to how silent his deskmate was.

That was one thing that was starting to seriously concern Chloé. For the last few weeks, Adrien had been increasingly quiet and withdrawn. He would barely respond when spoken to and would spend a lot of his time staring blankly off into the middle distance. He wouldn’t answer any of Chloé’s calls and his replies to her text were just as monosyllabic as they would have been in person.

Chloé had shared her concerns with Marinette, who agreed that something was very off with Adrien, but neither could work out was wrong with him for the life of them. Marinette had theorised it was something to do with his father, but Chloé disagreed. She’d seen Adrien upset or beaten down by his father’s authoritarian rule before, and this wasn’t like it at all. That and she’d asked Jean-François to use his connections to the attendants of Paris’ rich and famous and he’d reported back that, according to Adrien’s bodyguard, nothing had changed between the boy and his father.

With no other working theories, the girls had resolved to gently prod Adrien every so often to try to get him to open up. It hadn’t yet yielded particularly positive results, but Chloé remained hopeful. Currently, the two were sitting together in the school library after school had ended, working on a joint history presentation. Marinette wrote the script whilst Chloé provided the research, complete with colour-coded highlighting on the most relevant areas.

For some reason Chloé had yet to determine, Marinette was seated closer to her than usual. Close enough for their hands to touch whenever Chloé reached over for one of her highlighters or when Marinette took one of Chloé’s completed sheets of notes. She’d been doing this quite a lot recently. During classes or whenever they were hanging out in Chloé’s suite, Marinette would find some way to slip into her personal space. Not that Chloé minded, of course. After the years of being told not to make even the smallest amount of physical contact with the peasantry, Chloé found she craved Marinette’s touch like nothing before.

Marinette’s reaction to the contact, however, varied wildly, from actually instigating their cuddle sessions whilst watching anime to jerking her hand away as though she’d been burned whenever they accidentally touched during class. It was incredibly confusing, so Chloé was thankful when the latter had all but halted. Why Marinette had such different reactions was still a mystery, but it was one Chloé could live with now that it had ceased to be relevant.

“Chlo, is that  _ Adrien  _ laughing?” Chloé was snapped out of her thoughts about hugging Marinette by the dark-haired girl’s hushed hiss. Turning her head to listen out, Chloé did indeed hear faint laughter coming from amongst the stacks.

“It can’t be, it’s too high pitched.” Marinette shook her head in disagreement, rising from her seat.

“No, that’s definitely Adrien.” She set off, following the sound with Chloé scrambling after her.

“Mari, should we be doing this, wouldn’t it be spying or something?”

“Chlo, when was the last time you heard Adrien laugh, or express any emotion for that matter?” Marinette asked over her shoulder as she led the way into the stacks.

“Not for a few weeks…” Chloé admitted quietly. Truth be told, she did want to find out why Adrien was laughing, if indeed it was Adrien. The two girls walked quietly between the shelves, the laughter had stopped by now, but the library wasn’t so big and they were in the right area. Eventually, they heard the sounds of a muted conversation on the other side of the shelves they were standing by. Sneaking along to the end of the shelf, Marinette poked her head around to see who was talking and whipped back around, eyes wide with surprise.

She beckoned frantically for Chloé to come over. “It’s Adrien and Kagami!” She whispered, surprise clear in her voice.

“What?” Chloé slid past Marinette to glance around the shelf. Sure enough, there were Adrien and Kagami, talking quietly, but what concerned Chloé was the faint smile playing across Adrien’s face. Pulling back quickly, Chloé felt a sharp stab of irritation in her chest. She was Adrien’s best friend, how come he was talking to Kagami and not her? And how was she able to get him to smile and laugh after weeks of dull frowns?

“We should go.” Questions whirled round Chloé’s head as she took Marinette by the wrist and gently led her away, though she looked rather reluctant to follow.

“Chlo, don’t you want to know what they’re talking about?”

“We aren’t eavesdropping on their conversation, Mari. I thought you were over your crush on Adrien.”

“I am! I just thought if we knew what they were talking about, we could help Adrien.” Marinette protested, as they emerged back into the library’s study area.

“That doesn’t make eavesdropping okay. They wouldn’t be hiding back there unless they didn’t want to be overheard.” The pair sat back down at their table, Marinette still frowning a little.

“Don’t you want to know what’s been bothering Adrien though?”

“Of course I do, but we’re going to do it the right way. We’re supposed to be heroes.”

“What?!” Marinette spluttered, staring at Chloé who cocked her head in confusion.

“I mean, I was Queen Bee and you’re as close to one as you can be without powers. A regular everyday hero.”

“Oh! That’s what you meant.” Marinette grinned sheepishly, a light flush rising up her cheeks. “I wouldn’t say that though. I’m no hero.”

“Nonsense, you’re the most heroic person I know! Aside from Ladybug, that is, but she’s perfect and that would be an unfair comparison.” Chloé insisted and Marinette’s blush deepened. “You’re supportive, responsible and you go out of your way to help people.” Chloé blushed a little too as she continued. “You believed me when I said I wanted to be a better person and helped me with that. Mariko wishes she could be as much of an everyday hero as you.”

“Chlo, you’re embarrassing me…” Marinette whined piteously, earning a grin from Chloé.

“The truth cannot be silenced, Mari!” She declared a little too loudly and was hushed by several of the other students in the room, several of whom shot her nasty looks.

“Please stop saying that stuff about me.” Marinette mumbled, still bright red and trying to hide from the looks the other library patrons were giving them. Chloé’s grin only widened, this was far too fun! Not to mention the strange warm feeling in her chest whenever she complimented Marinette.

“Awww, but it’s all true, Mari, And somebody has to say it.” She cooed, as Marinette hid her face behind her hands, although Chloé could just make out a small smile from between her fingers. She was about to continue, when an irritated cough sounded above them.

“Are you quite done?” Césaire snapped, tapping her foot impatiently. “Marinette said she was going to hang out with me this afternoon.”

“Oh, shoot. Sorry, Alya, I got caught up working on our history presentation.” Marinette apologised, starting to gather up her things, whilst Césaire rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, you looked really busy with your project. I thought you wanted to talk to me about something important.”

“I do!” Marinette flailed her arms wildly and, for some reason, her eyes flickered over to Chloé briefly before returning to her friend. “Okay, I’m all ready to go. I’ll see you tomorrow Chlo!” Leaning down, Marinette planted a quick kiss to Chloé’s cheek and then scampered away, Césaire having to jog a little to catch up.

“What the hell was that?” Chloé just about heard Césaire hiss at Marinette before they were out of earshot and Chloé groaned. She’d hoped things would be improving between Marinette and her best friend, but they didn’t seem to be, and they definitely wouldn’t if Marinette kept doing things like that.

Well, it was pointless continuing the project without Marinette, so Chloé got up and started packing away her things. She briefly entertained the notion of heading back into the stacks to ‘accidentally’ bump into Adrien, but decided against it. Old Chloé certainly would have done so, anything to get that Kagami girl away from her precious Adrikins. New Chloé, however, though still a little upset he wasn’t confiding in her, his oldest friend, understood the need for Adrien to have some space to himself. She just wished he’d open up soon, because she was really starting to worry about him.

School supplies packed, Chloé got up and left the library, sending a quick message to her driver to let him know to pick her up. She could quickly jam out that physics homework when she got home, then she could spend the rest of the day vegging out on the sofa and continuing her rewatch of ‘Watashi no Mahou Academia’. A nice peaceful afternoon where hopefully nothing would go wrong.

* * *

Chloé groaned as Sakura’s dull love interest appeared on screen and she hurled a handful of popcorn at him. God, he was so annoying and boring and he didn’t have an ounce of character. He was possibly the worst part of the show. Thankfully, it was more than made up for by Liza, Sakura’s rival. Chloé absolutely adored Liza, haughty, proud and from a rich aristocratic family, but with a major insecurity complex about living up to her family’s legacy. For some reason, Marinette hadn’t been at all surprised when Chloé announced her as her favourite character. She’d actually started giggling and said it was perfect, though she’d refused to elaborate.

Munching on another handful of popcorn whilst the generic boy droned on about something inconsequential, Chloé thought back to the library and Adrien. She had so many burning questions about what was going on with him and why Kagami was involved. Again she felt a stab of jealousy. What did Kagami have to offer that she couldn’t? She was clever and resourceful, not to mention she knew Adrien better than anyone. It just didn’t make sense.

Her continued attempts to puzzle out exactly what was going on were interrupted by her phone buzzing. Sighing in irritation at her anime viewing being interrupted, Chloé paused her show and grabbed her phone. Her annoyance immediately dissipated, however, when she saw the caller ID.

“Mari!” She chirped happily only to hear a faint sniffing on the other end of the line.

“C-Chloé?”

“Mari, is something wrong?” Panic spiked through Chloé at Marinette’s tearful voice. What could have happened?

“I-I’m s-sorry but c-could you come over please?”

“I’m on my way, Mari. It’s going to be okay, I promise.” Chloé reassured her friend, already halfway through getting up and getting her stuff together. “I’m going to need to hang up so I can get my stuff, I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

“T-Thank you...” Marinette said miserably and the call cut off.

Stuffing the phone in her jeans pocket, Chloé scampered into her living area grabbing everything she thought she may need to help Marinette. Tissues, her tablet, an unopened bag of popcorn, they all went into a bag. Just as she was about to leave, a thought struck her and she quickly doubled back to grab one last thing from deep within her wardrobe.

Satisfied with her Marinette care package, Chloé pulled on her shoes and dashed out of the room to the lifts. As she waited anxiously, hopping from one foot to the other, she wondered what could possibly have happened. It had to have been something to do with Césaire, it made the most sense. Marinette and Césaire’s friendship had been so rocky and not even Marinette’s recent efforts seemed to have mended it.

The doors to the lifts hadn’t even fully opened before Chloé forced her way in, jabbing the ground floor button frantically. “Come on, come on.” She hissed to herself, irritation bubbling in her chest. Marinette needed her! She nearly shrieked in frustration as the lift came to a halt on the next floor down and two hotel guests gave the impatiently bouncing girl strange looks as she repeatedly hammered the door close button. The process repeated itself another four times as the lift descended, Chloé getting increasingly panicked and antsy, not caring about the other people in the lift with her.

Finally, the lift reached the lobby and Chloé impatiently forced her way out and ran through the lobby only to find her limo not waiting for her. Fuck! In her haste, she’d forgotten to call down to have it brought around. There was no time to waste, so Chloé took off at a sprint down the street towards the school and Marinette’s house.

It took about five minutes for Chloé to regret this decision, her lungs burned as she ran full tilt, ignoring the annoyed honking of car horns as she flew over roads in her mad dash. As she did so, her mind kept coming up with worse and worse scenarios. Maybe Marinette was hurt, maybe Césaire had attacked her, maybe Césaire had gotten akumatized. What if Marinette was about to be akumatized?! She’d sounded distraught enough over the phone. Chloé tried to speed up, but was already running as fast as she could. She rounded a corner and the park and bakery came into view. Spurred on by this, Chloé powered through her mounting exhaustion and covered the last few hundred metres to the bakery door, flinging it open and surprising Mr and Mrs Dupain-Cheng.

“Chloé? What are yo-?”

“Mari… needed… me..” Chloé wheezed out, already making for the stairs. “Sounded… upset…”

“We did see Alya storm off a little while ago.” Mrs Dupain-Cheng supplied and Chloé nodded, heading up the stairs through the living room and up the ladder to Marinette’s trapdoor, through which Chloé could hear the faint sounds of sobbing.

“Mari?” Chloé called tentatively through the trapdoor, still a little out of breath from her mad sprint. The quiet sobbing ceased, then the trapdoor was flung open and Chloé found herself pulled bodily up and into a crushing hug.

“You came!” Marinette mumbled into Chloé’s shoulder, tears leaking through Chloé’s cardigan.

“Of course I did.” Chloé awkwardly patted Marinette on the head, unsure quite what to do, but deciding to soldier on anyway. Gently, she prised herself from Marinette’s embrace and led the still teary girl up the ladder to her bed where they could both sit in comfort.

“Mari, what happened?” She asked gently, stroking her thumb over the back of Marinette’s hand in what she hoped was a comforting gesture.

“I-It was Alya, I wanted to tell her something important and when I did, she just blew up at me.” Marinette sounded absolutely miserable, still sniffing and wiping her tears with her sleeve. Chloé pulled the tissues she packed out of her bag and offered them to the dark-haired girl whilst she seethed silently. Marinette was so sweet and kind, what could she possibly have said to Césaire to get her mad enough to reduce Marinette to tears?

“What did you tell her?” Chloé asked, not quite sure if she should.

“I…” Marinette looked away from Chloé and she started kneading at her bed spread with her free hand until she steeled herself and met Chloé’s gaze evenly. “I’m bisexual, or at least I’m pretty sure I am.”

Chloé blinked a couple of times in surprise, she had not been expecting that. Marinette, meanwhile, started to look uneasy at Chloé’s lack of response. “Chloé, y-you are okay with me being bi, right?”

Shaking herself out of her momentary gaze, Chloé reached out and took Marinette’s other hand with her free one, holding them both tightly. “Of course I am, Mari. Thank you for sharing this with me.” As she said the words, questions gnawed at the back of her mind. How long had Marinette known? How had Chloé not seen any indication of this? Were there any to begin with? And did it make her a bad friend for not noticing them?

“Did Césaire not take it well?” Chloé’s voice hardened a fraction, already certain of the answer.

“No…” Marinette’s voice was mournful and she returned her gaze to her lap. “I thought she might be jealous that we were spending so much time together. We used to tell each other pretty much everything, so I figured if I shared this with her first, things would be better.”

“And she didn’t accept you?” Chloé could feel her blood starting to boil now. She already disliked Césaire, a feeling that was mutual and was reasonably justified, Chloé certainly hadn’t been a saint in the past. But to reject Marinette, Paris’ paragon of virtue? It was ridiculous, utterly ridi-. It was incredibly horrible of Césaire to do that.

“S-She said that bisexuals weren’t a thing, that I was just pretending to like girls to get Adrien’s attention, or that I was just a confused lesbian and should just make up my mind.” Marinette sniffled and dabbed at her face with the tissues. “She... also said some other things that I don’t want to repeat, then she stormed out.”

Fresh tears started to well up in Marinette’s eyes and Chloé pulled her in for another hug. She was going to destroy Césaire for making Marinette cry, absolutely destroy her. But that could come later. Right now Marinette needed comforting, so she released the hug so she could look Marinette in the eye. “Mari, your identity is valid. Césaire is wrong and you shouldn’t listen to her. Pretending to like girls for Adrien’s attention, what a fucking stupid thing to say.”

Chloé grinned as Marinette let out a soft giggle and a small smile graced her lips, though she still looked distraught over the whole affair. “I know you didn't want to get in the way of me and Alya being friends, but this is more than that, and I don’t think we can be friends any more.”

“It’s your decision, Mari. It always has been.” Chloé reassured Marinette as a fresh wave of tears spilled out of her eyes.

“She was my best friend for years and the first friend I’d had in ages, and she just threw it away.” Chloé shuffled uncomfortably, painfully aware it was mostly her actions that had led to Marinette being friendless up until collège.

“I’m sorry, Mari. I’m so sorry this happened to you.” Deciding now was the time, Chloé reached into her bag and pulled out the item she’d extracted from its hiding place in her wardrobe. Marinette cocked her head at the small black and yellow striped bear that Chloé held out to her, blushing furiously as she did so.

“Isn’t that the bear your butler was using to encourage you to be a nicer person at that party last year?” Chloé nodded, remembering the incident well, when the bear had been exposed in front of all her classmates and she’d nearly become the laughing stock of the entire school.

“This is Mr Cuddly. He’s the last present my mother gave me before she left, and whenever I’m upset, he comforts me. I figured since you were upset, I’d bring him and he could help comfort you.” She paused, fidgeting anxiously as Marinette didn’t answer immediately. “You can laugh like you did at the party if you want, I know it’s stupid, but he does make me feel better.”

“Chloé, I never laughed back then.” Marinette reached out and took the stuffed toy almost reverently and hugged him close to her chest. “Thank you, Chloé.” She smiled warmly at Chloé, who felt as though her heart about to burst as Marinette graced her with her smile.

“I-It was nothing.” She stammered, her heart beating wildly in addition to the swelling. “I’ll go get us some chamomile tea. Be back in a second.” Leaving Marinette hugging her bear on the bed, Chloé descended the ladder from the bed and left the room. She was surprised to see Mrs Dupain-Cheng in the small kitchen area of the apartment, looking anxiously up at the trapdoor as Chloé emerged.

“How is she?”

“Doing a little better, but still pretty upset. Do you have any chamomile tea I could take up to her?” Chloé asked as she entered the kitchen.

“Of course, dear. Marinette keeps her own little stash for the both of you.” Mrs Dupain-Cheng opened up a cupboard and retrieved a teapot and a box of teabags, selecting one and dropping it in. Chloé hovered a little awkwardly as Mrs Dupain-Cheng set about boiling a kettle and getting some mugs.

“Thank you for coming to see Marinette.” Mrs Dupain-Cheng broke the silence once the kettle started heating up. “I know you both haven’t had the best relationship in the past, but she speaks so highly of you now. We can’t have a conversation with her without hearing about ‘Chloé this’ or ‘Chloé that’.” A mischievous smile, so similar to her daughter’s, played across Mrs Dupain-Cheng’s face as she selected the mugs.

“I-I’m sorry for making your daughter’s life miserable for so long.” Chloé apologised shame-facedly. “If I could go back and change things, I would. I was selfish and mean and petty and cruel and-.”

“That’s enough of that, dear.” The older woman spoke firmly but kindly. “We can’t change the past, but we can work for a better future, and you’ve done so much to make up for it and my daughter seems so much happier with you in her life as a… friend.”

“T-Thank you.” Chloé stammered out, unsure of what else to say.

“You’re welcome, dear. Will you be staying for dinner? I’m sure Marinette would appreciate it.”

“If you don’t mind having me?”

“Of course not, dear. I always over-cater anyway.” Mrs Dupain-Cheng waved off Chloé’s concern before pouring the now boiled kettle into the teapot and placing it on a tea tray which she handed to Chloé. “Take as much time as you need up there.”

“Thank you, Mrs Dupain-Cheng.”

“Not a problem, Chloé.” The blonde girl nodded her thanks again before heading back to the stairs up to Marinette’s room, carefully balancing the tea tray as she made her way up and back into the room. Marinette still looked rather teary as she leaned over the edge of her bed to watch Chloé enter the room, Mr Cuddly still clutched to her chest. As she set down the tea on Marinette’s now spotless desk, Chloé resolved to do whatever it took to cheer Marinette up after this awful afternoon. Anything to see her smile again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aww poor Marinette, I'm proud of her though for being brave enough to come out to Chloé even after it didn't go well with Alya. Adrien and Kagami seem to be getting pretty close as well, it's good Adrien's got someone to talk to but shutting out Chloé isn't good for either of them.
> 
> Also, I've set up a [discord](https://discord.gg/4t3y25e) so feel free to join and stuff.
> 
> Big thanks to [machiavellianFictionist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/machiavellianFictionist) for proofreading and being the sweetest. Thanks too to [Ruby](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RubyAndNanaAO3) for beta reading and keeping my mood up when I'm down.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated.


	16. Chapter 16

“I don’t see what the big deal is.” Alix grumbled from where she lay, sprawled out on the chaise and throwing a rubber ball up at the ceiling.

“Mari and Césaire stopped being friends not that long ago and she’s still cut up over it. I need to get her the perfect Christmas present to cheer her up.” Chloé explained, scrolling through her seventh online boutique of the day. It was the first day of the winter break and Chloé was starting to panic ever so slightly.

Ever since Marinette had come out to her she’d been searching for the perfect Christmas present to give to her. She’d originally found a lovely set of sketching pencils and drawing pad that Marinette could use for her designs, but that felt... lacklustre now, and with only a little over a week before Christmas, Chloé had swallowed her pride and called for help.

“Chloé, this is Marinette we’re talking about. She’ll love anything you get her.”

“That is not very helpful, Alix. It needs to be perfect.” Chloé insisted as she dismissed the boutique, finding their selection to be wanting. Groaning, Alix caught the ball and righted herself to look at Chloé.

“Well, what does she like? That should narrow it down.”

“She likes fashion design, puppies and anime.”

“Well, then why don’t you get her something to do with one of those things?” Alix suggested, preparing to flop back and continue tossing her ball.

“I did, but it’s not good enough.” Chloé whined, opening up another webpage in the vain hope it would have something suitable. “It’s on the desk.” She watched out of the corner of her eye as Alix got up and wandered over to the desk to see what Chloé had originally gotten Marinette.

“What’s wrong with this? This looks great.” Alix brandished the sketchbook at Chloé, who rolled her eyes.

“Great isn’t good enough, it needs to be perfect.”

“Ugh, again with the ‘perfect’ thing.” Dropping the sketchbook back on the desk and meandering over to Chloé, Alix looked over her shoulder to see what she was looking at. “And this is ‘perfect’, is it? Fancy ass dresses.”

“Well, I’m open to suggestions.” Chloé snipped, starting to think she’d have to go out to look in the many stores rather than do things from the comfort of the suite.

“Yeah, I’ve got one.” The blonde perked up, eager to hear Alix’s idea. “Give her the sketchbook and pencils.” Chloé scowled up at Alix, setting aside her tablet.

“I just told you they weren’t good enough.”

“And I say they are. What makes them not perfect?”

“I don’t know… I didn’t spend that much on them, I guess.” Chloé shrugged helplessly. “Mari deserves more than just a cheap sketchbook and some pencils.”

“Cheap? Chloé, I know things like sketchbooks aren’t expensive like jewellery and stuff is, but these things you’ve got here are not cheap. This is high quality shit right here. If I were to get pencils like these, I’d never use them because I’d be afraid they’d run out.”

“Still, though. Mari deserves more than just those. Sabrina always liked it when I bought her expensive things, so even if those aren’t cheap for what they are, I still haven’t spent nearly enough on her.”

“Sabrina and Marinette are different people, Chloé, and I get the impression Marinette isn’t the sort of girl who appreciates having boatloads of money spent on her. That’s not how you’re gonna win her affections.

“What?” Alix ignored Chloé’s baffled question and ploughed on.

“Marinette’s the sort of girl who would want thought put into her gift. Why did you get her those anyway, aside from the fact that they’re good for her fashion design?”

“She mentioned once about two months ago that a lot of her drawings in her notebooks were smudging because she couldn’t really afford proper art supplies. I would have got it for her sooner, but I didn’t think we were at the gift-giving stage of friendship back then.” When Alix didn’t immediately respond, Chloé found her nails suddenly very interesting and spent some time examining them and trying to ignore the awkward silence that stretched between the two of them.

“You remembered an off-hand comment from two months ago?”

“Yes? Isn’t that what friends do?”

“Yeah,  _ friends. _ ” Alix snorted, sarcasm bleeding into her voice. “What wouldn’t I give for a  _ friend  _ like that?”

“Aren’t I your friend?”

“Not like you and Marinette are.” There was a note of what Chloé thought was disappointment in Alix’s voice and she got the distinct impression she was missing something fairly big. Before she could ask though, Alix seemed to perk back up.

“Anyway, that’s the sort of thing I’m talking about! You put thought into that present and that’s worth way more than some dress that costs a few hundred euros.”

“If you say so…”

“Look, trust me, she’ll love it.” Alix reassured her, dropping the present back on Chloé’s desk and leaning up against it. “Sooooo, what actually happened between Marinette and Alya that’s so bad you needed to get her the ‘perfect’ present to cheer her up?”

“Sorry, I can’t tell you.” Chloé said regretfully. Marinette had sworn her to secrecy about her bisexuality. She hadn’t even told her parents yet and was currently working up the courage to do so. Letting anyone at school know was completely out of the question. Marinette had actually had a panic attack about Césaire telling people, which had taken Chloé at least an hour to calm her down from. Fortunately, Césaire seemed to still have some decency to her and nobody seemed to be any the wiser. 

“Well, it must have been pretty bad for them to stop being friends over it. They were so close I was sure they were dating for the longest time.”

“You what?”

“I mean, Marinette did have that crush on Adrien, which she seems to have gotten over now, but she was also super clingy with Alya and would almost always go along with her crazy schemes.”

“Marinette’s a tactile person, she hugs me all the time.” Chloé defended weakly, not entirely sure where this would lead, but she didn’t like it one bit, and she especially didn’t like how Alix started giggling to herself.

“Does she now?”

“Yes..? We’re best friends.” Where on earth was Alix going with this, and why was she still giggling? “What’s this got to do with you thinking Marinette and Césaire were dating?”

“Nothing, just making a few observations.” Alix deflected poorly, trying to marshall her laughter. “I’ve had enough with talking for one day. I did my bit and helped you with your present dilemma, now we get to watch my roller derby on your stupidly large TV.”

Chloé was conflicted. On the one hand, she wanted to find out exactly what Alix was up to with her weird questions and odd tangents, but on the other, she wasn’t sure she wanted to know. “Fine, let’s watch your silly roller derby thing then.”

“It’s not silly!” Alix protested loudly as she pulled out a thumb drive and passed it to Chloé so she could set up the video. “It’s fucking awesome is what it is.”

“If you say so.” Rolling her eyes as she inserted the drive, Chloé did have to wonder what exactly was so appealing about watching people skating in circles.

“I do!” Throwing herself onto the sofa, Alix crossed her arms huffily. “When I’m old enough, I’m gonna join a team and be the best jammer there is.”

“If I pretend to know what a jammer is can I go read some manga instead?”

“Nope!” Alix declared, grabbing the remote and flipping to the appropriate channel as Chloé collapsed in resignation beside her. “I gotta make sure you understand the rules and shit so you can follow Bunny Rab-bit the Dust’s rise to fame!”

Chloé cocked an eyebrow at the pink-haired girl. “Bunny Rab-bit the dust?”

“My future derby name, duh.”

“Right…”

“Look it has meaning to me, okay? Now shush, it’s starting!” Falling silent, Chloé focused her attention on the screen as several women skated out onto the track. It didn’t take long for the violence to start and Chloé realised just why Alix was enraptured with the sport. This was going to be a long afternoon.

* * *

The winter break flew by and, in no time at all, it was Christmas. Chloé was trudging her way to the Dupain-Cheng bakery, Marinette’s present tucked under one arm to shield it from the biting wind.

Chloé had decided to give her driver a day off. It wasn’t too far of a walk to the bakery from the hotel anyway. Burying her face further into her scarf, Chloé gnawed at her lip nervously. She had ultimately heeded Alix’s advice and settled on giving Marinette the sketchbook and pencils. It had taken her several tries to get the wrapping paper just right, she’d never wrapped a present before, she’d always had Jean-François do it for her, and she hoped Marinette appreciated how thorough she’d been with it.

The lights were off in the bakery since they’d closed for Christmas, but Chloé had called ahead, so when she rapped on the door she was greeted less than a minute later by Mrs Dupain-Cheng.

“Chloé! Merry Christmas!”

“Merry Christmas, Mrs Dupain-Cheng. Sorry I’m a little later than I said I would be, the weather delayed me.”

“You’re not late at all. Marinette’s waiting up in her room for you. You’d think she was a little kid again with how excited she’s been for today.” Chloé’s cheeks had already been pinked by the chilly wind outside, but she felt a fresh heat rise in them. Had Marinette been looking forward to seeing her that much?”

“I-I’d better not keep her waiting then.” Chloé stammered out, following Mrs Duapin-Cheng up the stairs into the house’s living room, where Mr Dupain-Cheng sat reading a book wearing an almost comically small pair of glasses for a man of his stature.

“Merry Christmas, Chloé.” He called absently to her as she continued her ascent up to Marinette’s room.

“Merry Christmas, Mr Dupain-Cheng.”

“I told you, it’s Tom.”

“And I told you calling you that would be impolite.” Chloé called back as she reached the top of the ladder and knocked on the trapdoor. “Mari? It’s Chloé.” Without waiting for an answer, Chloé entered the room to Marinette tumbling down from her bed in her eagerness to greet the blonde.

“Chloé! Merry Christmas!” She chirped, popping upright and fighting to pull her shirt back down after it had ridden up during her tumble.

“Are you alright?” Chloé asked in concern, trying not to stare at Marinette’s taut stomach muscles. Seriously, Chloé needed to ask her what her workout routine was.

“I’ve had worse falls, I’ll be fine!” Marinette finally won her fight with her shirt and took notice of the present tucked under Chloé’s arm. “Oh my God, Chlo, you didn’t!”

“I did, I wanted to.” Chloé affirmed holding out the present to Marinette. “Merry Christmas, Mari.” Almost reverently, the girl took the present, allowing Chloé to divest herself of her coat and scarf. Once she’d neatly hung her things on the small coat rack in the corner, Chloé turned back to Marinette, only to see the girl with an utterly perplexed look on her face as she turned the present over in her hands.

“Mari? What’s wrong?” Chloé asked, worry seeping into her voice. She’d done something wrong, she knew it. Mari hated her present and she hadn’t even opened it yet.

“Chlo… Did you use tape on all the seams?”

“Yes, I needed to make sure it’s properly sealed.” There was a moment’s silence then Marinette let out a soft snort that quickly became quiet giggles.

“Chlo, if you tape up all the seams, then I can’t get into the present to open it!”

“O-Oh…” Chloé felt a flash of embarrassment fill her chest. She couldn’t wrap a present right and now Marinette was laughing at her. “I-I’m sorry…”

“What? Oh no, Chlo. I’m not laughing at you, it’s cute that you put so much effort into wrapping this for me.” Cute, Marinette thought she was cute. Chloé felt her blush deepen and she quickly turned away to hide it.

“Well, go on and open it, then!” She huffed, trying to will her cheeks into turning back to their regular colour. There was a brief sound of struggle, then the ripping of paper as Marinette finally managed to get past Chloé’s overenthusiastic wrapping. 

“Oh… Chloé, you shouldn’t have.” Marinette’s hushed voice drifted over Chloé’s shoulder and she turned to face the dark-haired girl, praying she wasn’t still blushing. Marinette was gazing down at the now unwrapped sketchbook and pencils with rapt awe.

“You mentioned you needed better art supplies for your drawings so I got you some.” Chloé shrugged.

“But Chloé, these are so expensive…”

“Not really? And besides, it’s a false economy to buy cheap things.”

“Even so… I feel bad now, I should have done more for your present.” Wait, did Marinette just say  _ her  _ present?

“Y-You got  _ me  _ a present?” Chloé asked incredulously, she’d never gotten a present from a friend before. Sure she would get one from Adrien, but she knew they were really selected by his father’s assistant and not him.

“Of course I did.” Cocking her head, Marinette frowned in confusion. “It is Christmas after all.”

“Yes, but you didn’t have to do that for me.”

“As a wise woman once said, I wanted to.” Marinette smiled and, honest to God, winked at Chloé before skipping over to her desk and gently laying her new sketchbook down on it before opening up a drawer and extracting a fairly crumpled lump of wrapping paper.

“Sorry it’s not as neat as yours, but it’s not an easy shape to wrap.” Intrigued by this description, Chloé took the proffered parcel and was further interested by how the contents were soft beneath the wrapping.

“The wrapping’s perfectly fine, Mari.” Chloé told her, pulling at the paper to see what was inside.

“D-Do you like it?” Marinette asked tentatively when Chloé did not immediately answer after the present had been fully extracted. “I noticed you have a ladybug plushie, and after you lent me Mr Cuddly, I figured I could make a plushie for you. So I looked it up and got all the supplies and stuff and-” Marinette’s rambling was cut off by Chloé throwing her arms around her neck and pulling her into a fierce hug, bee plushie clutched in the blonde’s hand.

“I love it, Mari.” Chloé pulled back from the hug to plant a kiss on Marinette’s cheek, only for Marinette to turn her head at the last second and before Chloé could stop herself, she planted a soft kiss right on Marinette’s lips.

It only lasted a second before Chloé pulled away in shock, blushing furiously as Marinette did the same. “Oh my God, Chloé. I’m sorry.”

“What? No, it was my fault.” The blonde girl insisted, pulling her bee plushie to her chest and looking around the room awkwardly. The two fell silent, unsure of what to say, until Marinette spoke up with forced manic glee.

“Tea! You haven’t had any tea yet! I’ll go get some!” And Marinette bolted from the room, face still burning red as the trapdoor slammed loudly behind her, leaving Chloé alone in the room. As though she were in a daze, Chloé wandered over to the chaise and collapsed onto it, still cuddling the bee plushie tightly.

That had been her first kiss… As she gazed up at the ceiling, Chloé absently raised a hand to brush at her lips. It may have only been for a second, but Chloé could still feel how soft and nice Marinette’s lips had felt against hers. Closing her eyes, Chloé could picture them in all their pink glory, slightly glossy from Marnette’s favourite cherry lip gloss. Darting out her tongue, Chloé could taste a hint of cherry on her own lips.

Was this something friends thought about each other? How soft and kissable their best friend’s lips were? Akiko did certainly think about Mariko’s lips a lot and they were best friends, although Chloé was starting to have doubts about the manga’s portrayal of a very close friendship.

One thing was for certain, however, and that was that Chloé definitely wouldn’t mind kissing Marinette again, whatever that meant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even if it's March in reality, it can still be Christmas in fic land! And who says you need mistletoe to kiss people then either, you can do it completely by accident too! These two really need to get their acts together.
> 
> Also, I've set up a [discord](https://discord.gg/4t3y25e) so feel free to join and stuff.
> 
> Big thanks to [machiavellianFictionist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/machiavellianFictionist) for proofreading and being awesome. Lots of thanks too to my lovely girlfriend [Ruby](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RubyAndNanaAO3) for beta reading and being far too good to me.


	17. Chapter 17

Chloé spent the last week of the winter break pondering the meaning of her very brief kiss with Marinette on Christmas. Normally, Chloé would be going to Marinette to ask for her advice on the subject, but since Marinette herself was the subject, it was out of the question. She’d tried to call Adrien but, as always these days, it had gone straight to voicemail. The most contact she’d had with him was a very brief text on Christmas afternoon wishing her a Merry Christmas. None of her several slightly frantic responses received any reply though.

She’d briefly considered asking Alix about it, but quickly came to the conclusion that was a bad idea, who knew what strange theories she’d come up with. Just a couple of days ago she’d told Chloé that Sakura and Liza were obviously in love and secretly dating, which was of course preposterous. Sakura already had a love interest, much as Chloé despised the blandly perfect boy whose only flaw seemed to be his total lack of spine.

That said, Chloé did agree that Liza would make a much better partner for Sakura. She was smart, resourceful and challenged Sakura to improve whilst still being supportive. But that was beside the point because neither of them liked girls, and despite what Alix seemed to think, not everyone was gay or bi or whatever. Chloé certainly wasn’t. So why had she actually maybe sort of enjoyed kissing Marinette?

She’d spent ages poring over her volumes of Princess Yuri, now that she had essentially taken it as her guide to her friendship with Marinette, looking for some insight into the matter, but found none. Of course, there might be something in the new volume, which would be released in a little over a week, something Chloé had been eagerly awaiting for quite a while now. But until then, Chloé was stuck for answers.

And so, a still bemused and introspective Chloé returned to school on the first day back from winter break to find a very tense classroom awaiting her. There was no chatter and everyone in the room’s attention seemed to be focused on Césaire and Nino. Sliding quietly into her seat, and after pulling out her books and tablet, Chloé leaned back slightly to whisper to Alix.

“What’s happened?” Alix glanced around nervously, making sure no one was paying attention to her talking to Chloé.

“Alya and Nino had some kind of big fight over the break. Nobody knows what it was about though, and neither of them is saying.” Looking over at the pair, Chloé did take note that Césaire was very pointedly looking anywhere other than at Nino, whilst he kept his eyes firmly forward as he spun his pen between his fingers.

“Have they broken up, then?” She asked quietly, unsure of how she should feel about this development. On the one hand, after everything that had gone down between herself, Marinette and Césaire she found it hard to muster any feeling other than sadistic joy at the idea of Césaire suffering, a feeling she was quite conflicted over. On the other hand, however, she did hope Nino was okay, he’d been a good friend to Adrien previously and had barely been involved in Chloé’s torment.

“They haven’t said. It looks like it though.” Joining Chloé in staring at the (ex?) couple, Alix mused to herself. “It was definitely Nino who did it though, he seems less irritated.” Suddenly, the short girl threw herself backwards in her seat and away from Chloé as her deskmate, Mylène, entered. Sighing in disappointment, Chloé leaned forwards again and flipped through her textbook to where they last left off. Despite her mild confusion as to how she should feel about this latest development, there might at least be a silver lining, namely that with this latest drama, Chloé’s status as class pariah might lessen and be forgotten.

The classroom door swung open again and Chloé looked up in case it was Marinette. Instead, she frowned ever so slightly as Adrien entered the room, waving goodbye to Kagami, his face falling as she left and he took his seat beside Nino, seemingly completely oblivious to his friend’s distress.

This simply could not continue. Adrien was being a terrible friend and ignoring everyone except Kagami without any explanation. She and Marinette would have to talk later about exactly how they’d go about confronting him. Speak of the devil (although Marinette was more akin to an angel than something from the pits) and she shall appear, trotting happily into the classroom and slowing to a confused halt as she picked up on the atmosphere of the room.

When she noticed Chloé, however, her lips split into a wide smile and Chloé felt her cheeks heat up slightly as Marinette hopped up the few steps to settle in beside her. “Chlo! I haven’t seen you in days!”

“I’ve been busy.” Chloé defended herself, unwilling to admit she’d been avoiding seeing Marinette for fear of further confusing herself, fears that seemed completely justified as Marinette scooched just a little bit too close to Chloé for comfort and, after a moment’s hesitation, planted a small kiss on Chloé’s cheek, which was left with a burning imprint.

Marinette nodded sagely, looking around the class and fixing her gaze on the feuding couple to their left. “So what’s up with Alya and Nino?”

“I don’t know, apparently there was some kind of fight over the holiday and that they might have broken up.” Chloé murmured to her friend, eyeing the pair as well, but more importantly to her, Adrien. There was a hum of displeasure from Marinette and she too looked rather conflicted about the affair.

“Do you think Alya told Nino about… you know…” Marinette gestured vaguely at herself by way of explanation.

“If that’s what they fought about, then that’s a good thing, right? It means Nino’s not putting up with Césaire’s bullshit anymore.” Chloé suggested, though Marinette still looked uncomfortable about the whole affair.

“I guess, but it still would mean she outed me to someone without my permission.” Marinette said morosely, looking away from Alya and hanging her head. Tentatively, Chloé reached out and patted Marinette gently on the shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Mari. We can sort it out later, I promise” Chloé murmured as Mme Bustier entered the room and started setting up for the lesson, forcing them to cut their conversation short.

“Thanks, Chlo.” Marinette smiled softly and nudged Chloé with her shoulder, bringing a heat to Chloé’s face as they turned their attention to the front.

* * *

Later, at lunch time, Marinette and Chloé sat together at a table in the cafeteria, watching Adrien and Kagami sitting alone at their own table. During the intervening lessons, Chloé had filled Marinette in on Adrien’s latest bouts of non-communication, especially with the current situation with Nino. Chloé had kept an eye on Adrien all day and, as far as she could tell, the most he’d said to Nino was to ask to borrow his eraser.

“You agree, then?” Chloé muttered around a mouthful of limp salad as Marinette nodded.

“You’re right, this has gone on for too long. Something’s very wrong with Adrien.” She agreed, watching as the pair finished their meal and got up to leave. “Shall we?”

“Yes.” Swallowing down a final mouthful of the underwhelming salad, Chloé and Marinette got up as well and speedwalked after Adrien and Kagami, catching up to the two as they crossed the threshold. None of them noticed the emerald gaze that watched them go with narrowed eyes. Admittedly, Chloé could have been gentler as she grabbed onto Adrien’s upper arm and pulled him aside, the blonde boy letting out a squawk.

“Chloé! What!?” He protested as she hauled him into the nearby girls bathroom, Marinette and Kagami following, the former looking rather concerned, the latter less so.

“Let go of he- _him_, Bourgeois!” She snarled, interposing herself between the two and grabbing Chloé’s wrist.

“This doesn’t concern you,  _ Tsurugi _ .” Chloé snapped, slightly cruelly mimicking Kagami’s enunciation.

“Chlo! Be nice!” Marinette hissed, placing a calming hand on Chloé’s shoulder as she reluctantly let go of Adrien’s arm and moving back as the boy retreated a little, his head hanging.

“Sorry, Mari.” Chloé let her expression soften a little as she glanced back at Marinette, before glaring at Kagami. “Can I have my hand back, please?” After a moment’s quiet contemplation, Kagami released Chloé’s wrist from her iron grip and walked over to Adrien, still standing protectively between him and the other two girls.

“What do you two want?” She asked, looking between Marinette and Chloé suspiciously.

“We wanted to talk to Adrien.” Marinette told the girl, hands raised in an attempt to calm the situation further. “We’ve been worried about him.”

“He’s barely said a word to anyone for at least a month. The last time I heard from him was at Christmas, when all I got was the most lame text ever and not even a call.” Chloé didn’t mean or want to guilt Adrien about this, but she was really quite frustrated about this whole affair as she listed out her grievances. “I know I’ve not been the best of friends, but I know I wasn’t bad enough to warrant being ignored with all the ‘False Queen’ shit Lila started was going around.”

“The what?” Adrien asked, looking up at Kagami in confusion and she shrugged.

“I don’t know, you’re my only friend and I don’t pay attention to gossip.”

“Lila accused Chloé of stealing the Bee Miraculous and the rest of the class believed her. Barely anyone talks to Chloé now.” Marinette told the pair and Chloé shifted uncomfortably at the looks of shock and pity she received from Adrien and Kagami. 

“Oh God, Chloé. I’m so so sorry.” Adrien looked away in guilt, his hand reaching up to clasp his upper arm. “I should have paid more attention.”

“You were busy, Adrien. You had your own things to deal with. But that does sound terrible, Chloé, are you alright?”

“I’m fine now, but don’t deflect. Adrien, what’s been going on with you?” Chloé folded her arms, and stared down the shy boy.

“It’s um… It’s complicated.” Adrien tried, smiling sheepishly at Chloé, but she wasn’t having it.

“No, Adrien. I’m done with being patient about this and leaving you in your own little world. I’m your oldest friend, don’t I deserve to know?” She implored, shooting Kagami a dark look as the girl scowled at her.

“It’s private. Adrien doesn’t owe you anything.” Kagami snapped, folding her arms to match Chloé, and out of the corner of her eye, Chloé noticed Marinette tense up and step forward a little to shield her.

“He doesn’t, but we’re Adrien’s friends, we want to help.” She tried to reassure Kagami. “Adrien, please?” The boy became very interested in his shoes, scuffing them back and forth against the floor.

“I… I’m sorry, I can’t tell you.” He finally looked up at Chloé, looking more upset and conflicted than she’d ever seen him before. “I have to go.” Moving quickly, Adrien slipped around Marinette and Chloé before they could stop him.

“Adrien, wait!” Chloé spun to pursue him, only for Kagami to once again grab her wrist.

“He wants you to leave him alone.” She insisted, holding firm until Chloé twisted rather painfully and freed herself to continue her pursuit of Adrien, who had only just made it out of the door. Stalking quickly after the boy with both Marinette and Kagami following closely, Chloé threw open the bathroom door, only to be met with a small crowd of her class members, with Lila smirking at the head of the crowd.

“See? I told you I saw Chloé going to harass poor Adrien, and here she is. Clearly, she forced him into the girls bathroom and is now chasing after him.” She spoke loudly to the group, her wicked grin going unnoticed by anyone other than Chloé.

“That’s not what happened and you know it.” She snarled at the brunette, looking to Adrien for support. “Adrien, tell them!”

“You don’t have to do what she says anymore, Adrien.” Sabrina suddenly spoke up from nearby, sympathy filling her voice. “Chloé’s just a bully, she has no real power and she has none over you.” Adrien wilted under the sudden attention of all the students, but couldn’t flee due to being boxed in by them.

“Leave him alone!” Roughly shoving Chloé aside, Kagami jogged over to Adrien and with a forceful glare, started to guide him away from the throng.

“Even Kagami agrees that Chloé’s been harassing him.” Lila crowed, clearly delighted by this turn of events. The Japanese girl paused in her evacuation to glare hatefully at Lila, her triumphant grin faltering a little.

“Shut up, you hag! I’ve never heard a single truth pass your lips.” She spat before turning her back on the girl and hustling Adrien away, the crowd moving to fill the gap they left, leaving Chloé trapped once again. A few of the students looked a little confused by Kagami’s words and were murmuring amongst themselves.

“Well, what does she know? She’s not even in our class and it’s not like she has any friends.” Lila spoke hastily, trying to regain control of the narrative. “Unlike us, and we all know what Chloé’s like! A mean bitch who’ll tread on anyone to get whatever she wants.” Her words seemed to work and there were several nods from the surrounding students as they started to turn on Chloé again.

Panic started to rise in Chloé’s chest as they all looked at her with angry expressions, clearly believing Lila’s words. She couldn’t do this, not again, she began to shrink down under everyone’s gazes. She was only just about able to cope with being ignored. It was ‘False Queen’ all over again and it was going to play out exactly the same.

“That’s it!” A loud, angry shout rang out from behind Chloé and Marinette pushed past her to stand boldly between her and the crowd. “I’ve fucking had enough with you slandering Chloé and turning everyone against her like this.” Chloé looked up, awestruck as the noon day sun shone down into the courtyard, illuminating Marinette as she stood strong before the amassed students. She really was an angel, and a vengeful one at that, as she continued to lambast their classmates.

“Ever since the start of this year, Chloé has been nothing but considerate and kind. When was the last time she terrorised any of you?”

“She attacked me before the holidays.” Alya called out, scowling deeply at her former friend.

“You accused her of stealing a Miraculous when we all know that’s not what happened, Alya, so shut up.” Marinette snapped, her patience clearly having snapped with the girl.

“And she’s been picking on Lila.” Sabrina chipped in defiantly, despite everyone else starting to look a little unsure.

“Picking on her?! What has Chloé done to Lila?”

“She’s been accusing her of being a liar when we all know Chloé’s the liar.”

“Lila lies like she breathes, just like Kagami said.” Marinette announced, hushed whispers following in its wake. “She’s not friends with Jagged Stone, I should know since I have him on speed dial after I designed his album cover. She never had tinnitus, and it certainly doesn’t switch ears and then magically go away. She-”

“I can’t believe it!” Lila cried out dramatically, interrupting Marinette’s tirade and again trying to regain control of the situation. “To think Chloé could corrupt you to her side.” Unlike before, however, her words weren’t met with universal agreement. Instead the class were still muttering to one another doubt present in their faces.

“That won’t work this time.” Marinette smirked, leaning in to talk quietly to Lila. “Chloé has a bad track record, that’s easily turned against her. I, on the other hand, have been a model student for years.” For the first time, Lila seemed to be thrown off by what was happening and she glanced around, looking for support.

“You think you’ve won?” She hissed, low enough that only Marinette and Chloé could hear what she was saying. “You think exposing a couple of little lies is going to stop me from ruining you?”

“No, but it’s a start.” Marinette narrowed her eyes at Lila before glancing at her watch. “I’m done with your bullshit though, and I’m especially done with you going after Chloé. You leave her alone. Now, lunch is nearly over, so why don’t we leave this here for now?”

Lila’s scowl only deepened as Marinette dictated the terms. “I will destroy you. You saw what I did to your precious Chloé, and I can do the same to you, I will have you begging on your knees by the time I’m done with you.” And with this parting threat, Lila gestured to Sabrina to follow her, and she swept away, leaving several confused students behind.

“Right, show’s over and class is going to start!” Marinette called out to the group in her best student president voice. Slowly, the group dispersed, leaving Marinette and Chloé behind, the latter still slightly stunned by what had just happened.

“Sorry, Chlo. I don’t like to get angry like that.” Marinette told her friend as she straightened up from her cower. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, I am thanks to you.” Chloé smiled at her saviour, though she was still a little shaky after that encounter. “You just stood up for me against the rest of the class. You told Lila to leave me alone.”

“Well of course I did, you’re my... best friend, and absolutely no one deserves to be treated as monstrously as you’ve been.” Chloé considered questioning Marinette’s odd pause, but was far too grateful to the girl for standing up for her that she could let it slide, instead wrapping the slightly shorter girl in a tight embrace.

“Thank you.” She murmured into Marinette’s shoulder and nuzzled into the crook of her neck. The sweet smell of cherry filling her nose as she breathed in Marinette’s scent. She’d never noticed Marinette wearing any perfume before. It suited her. 

After a little while, Chloé started to feel a little awkward hugging Marinette in the middle of the courtyard and hurriedly pulled away, brushing herself off and straightening her outfit as Marinette started to do the same, though she had a light dusting of pink across her cheeks.

“We should probably get to class as well.” Marinette mumbled, not quite meeting Chloé’s eyes as she started back towards the classroom with the blonde following in her wake.

“You know, Lila’s not going to stop until she’s destroyed your life.” Pausing outside the classroom, Marinette turned back to face Chloé and reached out to take her hand.

“It’ll be fine, Chlo.” She reassured the blonde, interlacing their fingers and squeezing gently. “Lila’s not nearly as clever as she thinks she is.”

“But you know what she did to me…” Chloé murmured, looking away and feeling shame bubbling up inside her. Marinette was so confident Lila could do nothing to her, whilst she’d folded so easily. Why couldn’t she be strong like Marinette?

“I know, Chlo, I know. That was so awful, and I’m sure she’s going to try something just as bad on me, but I’ve got you, so I know it’ll all be fine.”

“You’re putting too much faith in me.”

“I don’t think so. You’re Queen Bee, my real-life Princess Yuri.” Chloé felt her face flush at Marinette’s compliments and she shuffled on the spot.

“I’m still worried about you. Lila was going to go after you at the start of the year before I annoyed her. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Hey, hey. Don’t think about things like that.” Marinette rubbed soothingly at Chloé’s hand with her thumb. “Isn’t there a new Princess Yuri coming out soon? Why don’t we talk about that for a bit to take your mind off it?”

“If you’re sure…” Chloé still felt a little doubtful about Marinette’s confidence, she’d been in the same position not too long ago, after all.

“You’ll feel better, I promise. Have they given any details about the plot yet?”

“Not much, just that this’ll be the most exciting volume yet and will change everything.” Just thinking about the impending release was already making Chloé feel better. “There were some hints in the last volume that there’s going to be a big confrontation with the Demon King, and there’s also a theory going around that Akiko is going to end up exposed as Princess Yuri to someone. I don’t believe it’s true, but if anyone was going to find out, it would have to be Mariko, right? They’re the best of friends and Akiko already feels super guilty about hiding this massive part of her life from Mariko.”

The words spilled out of Chloé’s mouth at an increasing speed as she got more and more excited sharing something she loved so much with Marinette. And the best part? Marinette was actually listening to her! Not just nodding along like everyone else did.

“Oh that would be a massive shake up for them!” She chirped excitedly, though she did sound a little put out about something, probably the prospect of facing down Lila, so Chloé ploughed on, determined to cheer Marinette up too.

“It will. Whenever the other series I’ve read have had a big reveal like that, it’s always been pretty lacklustre. but I trust Sakura-Sensei will do the reveal justice. She hasn’t let me down yet!” Chloé wasn’t sure when she started flapping her free hand and bouncing in place, but Marinette hadn’t mentioned it, if anything, she seems to be enjoying seeing Chloé so happy and carefree. It did feel really good to do it too, so Chloé kept going.

“She’s also been hinting that she’s been working on a slice of life series, but she’s been very secretive about it, and I’m so excited!”

“I’m glad you are, Chloé. Perhaps you can transfer that enthusiasm into your classwork now?” A voice spoke from behind Chloé and she looked around wildly to see Mma Bustier looking at the pair of them with a mildly amused smile. “Shall we?”

“Yes, Madame, sorry.” Marinette apologised, pulling Chloé by their intertwined hands into the classroom, Mme Bustier shaking her head as she followed them into the room. Chloé pointedly ignored Alix’s raised eyebrows as the pair slid into their seats while Mme Bustier took her position at the front of the class and started talking about the upcoming trip to London.

“You feel better now, Chlo?”

“A lot better. Thank you, Mari.” Chloé murmured quietly, so as not to disturb the teacher as she told the class about the trip’s itinerary, squeezing Marinette’s hand.

“Good.” Marinette smiled brightly before turning her attention to the front as Chloé did the same, their hands still joined beneath the desk, neither willing to let go just yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, Lila's getting some comeuppance although with a reprisal against Marinette promised so that's fun. And there is definitely something up with Adrien, but who knows what it could be. Things are ramping up though and who knows what the next chapter will hold (I do, I've been planning it from almost the very start).
> 
> Also, I've set up a [discord](https://discord.gg/4t3y25e) so feel free to join and stuff.
> 
> Big thanks to [machiavellianFictionist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/machiavellianFictionist) for proofreading and so supportive. Lots of thanks too to the lovely [Ruby](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RubyAndNanaAO3) for beta reading and still being there for me.


	18. Chapter 18

Finally, today was the day! The day Chloé had been waiting for for months, the release of the newest volume of Princess Yuri! Chloé had spent the last couple of days staying away from social media for fear of spoilers. The publishers and Sakura-sensei had done a very good job of keeping any leaks from happening, but Chloé was taking no chances with this. She’d been waiting for months and nothing was going to spoil this momentous occasion for her.

So here she was, bouncing eagerly on the balls of her feet outside the store where she bought all her manga from. There were a few others waiting as well, and Chloé was thankful she’d had the foresight to disguise herself in her cheapest clothes. For previous releases she hadn’t actually been the one to buy the manga, she’d gotten Sabrina to do it instead. Of course, now that she and Sabrina weren’t on, well, any terms at all, it fell to Chloé to obtain the manga.

Though she was willing to share her interests with a few select friends, Chloé still had an image to maintain as the mayor’s daughter, and it would be incredibly damaging for her father if it got out that his daughter was a  _ weeb _ . Marinette had offered to buy the manga on Chloé’s behalf, but she’d graciously refused. Tempting as the offer had been, she didn’t want to start slipping back into old habits of bossing people around, especially when Marinette had prior obligations at the bakery.

It took a lot of Chloé’s self control not to start flapping in excitement as she saw one of the employees unlock the door and flip the open sign over. Ignoring the other patrons who started entering at a regular pace, Chloé shoved her way in and made a beeline for the new arrivals section.

There it was, in all its glory! A display on a small table in the corner, several copies arranged artfully around a blown up version of the announcement image that had been revealed a couple of months ago. Chloé paused momentarily to admire how well Sakura-sensei captured the expressions of the two girls, the odd mix of uncertainty and determination that followed them throughout the series.

Now wasn’t the time to gawk at posters though. Scooping up a copy from the table, Chloé skipped back to the front of the store and laid it on the counter.

“€9.99, please.” The clerk droned out, and Chloé was forced to pause in her excited bouncing to extract her purse and hand over the money. She was practically vibrating with glee as she snatched the bag from the clerk and ran for the door, just barely remembering to call out her thanks before rushing out.

Chloé ran non-stop back to the hotel, an eager grin plastered across her face as she burst through the front doors, ignoring the strange looks she got from the various patrons. The staff were rather well-versed in her various antics and paid no mind to this rather benign peculiarity of the young Miss Bourgeois as she bolted into the lift and hammered the button for her floor.

Chloé continued to bounce as the lift swept upwards, precious cargo clutched in a death grip. Just a little bit longer. She kept glancing up impatiently at the floor display as the other occupants of the lift got off at their various floors, until she was the only one left as it reached the top floor with a ‘ding’.

The doors hadn’t fully opened before Chloé squeezed out and ran for her door, not really paying attention to where she was going, and colliding painfully with something very solid, knocking her to the floor.

“Wh-!” She was just about to shriek indignantly at the person who dared get between her and her precious manga-reading time, but she was interrupted by a familiar voice.

“Princess? What are you wearing?” Panic washed through Chloé as she scrambled back to her feet, hiding the bag with her manga behind her back.

“Papa?!” She squawked, putting on her best ‘press smile’. “Sorry, I didn’t see you there.” Continuing to smile, she sidled around her father, who looked at her strangely.

“You didn’t say why you’re wearing clothes like that.” Mayor Bourgeois asked suspiciously, following Chloé around as she tried to escape. “Are you okay, Princess? You’ve been acting very strangely lately.”

“Am I? I hadn’t noticed.” Chloé tried to deflect, desperately wanting out of this awkward conversation. “I guess I must still be upset about Sabrina.”

“What happened with Sabrina?” Mayor Bourgeois’ concerned expression immediately switched to concern and he moved to lay a hand on Chloé’s shoulder, though he stopped when she moved back hastily.

“I told you weeks ago, Papa. We had a falling out and we aren’t friends anymore.” Chloé explained, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. Papa did try his best, but this wasn’t the first time he’d forgotten something she’d told him.

“What!?” Chloé really did roll her eyes at her father’s bluster. Dear god, how much had she changed that Papa’s very mild histrionics annoyed her when in the past she’d actively encouraged it to use him to get her way. “Why would she not want to be friends with my Princess?”

Chloé could think of several reasons, more than a few of which began and ended with Lila Rossi. She didn’t voice any of the myriad reasons, however, and instead just shrugged, affecting a saddened expression as she did so. Chloé really wanted this conversation to end so she could go and lock herself in her room and read her manga.

“Well, I’ll call her father immediately! This is completely unacceptable. I’ll have him fired if he doesn’t talk to Sabirna about how ungrateful she is!” Mayor Bourgeois made to march off to his office to make the call, but was stopped by Chloé grabbing onto his sleeve in a blind panic.

“No, Papa. You don’t need to do that!” She told him hastily, quickly trying to think of a reason why he shouldn’t and cursing her past self internally. If such a thing were possible, Chloé would very much like to go back in time and slap herself for all the various things she’d done, including having essentially trained her father into abusing his powers as mayor at the drop of a hat if it would please Chloé.

“Why ever not, Princess?” Mayor Bourgeois gave his daughter a deeply confused look as she continued to wrack her brains.

“Because… I... don’t really want her as a friend anymore.” She half-lied, pouting up at her father. In truth, she was rather on the fence about rekindling her friendship with Sabrina if the opportunity arose. On the one hand, she was still  _ very  _ pissed off that Sabrina had chosen Lila over her, but on the other it was hard to just forget about several years of friendship and Chloé did really regret how she’d treated Sabrina.

“And it happened weeks ago, there’s no point bringing it up now.” Chloé smiled as winsomely as she could and after a few moments her father relented.

“Alright, Princess. You know best, I suppose...” He still sounded somewhat sceptical as Chloé released her hold on his sleeve and breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Taking this as her cue to leave, Chloé made her way to her suite door, making sure to keep the bag containing her manga out of sight. Just as she was about to enter, a call from her father made her pause briefly.

“If there’s anything that’s… bothering you, Princess, you know you can always talk to me.” Chloé turned back to give her father another ‘press smile’.

“Of course, Papa.” She chirped and then quickly vanished into her room, shutting and locking the door behind her. She stayed with her back pressed against the door for a little while as she went over what had just happened in her mind. She knew Papa meant well, but he had far more important things to worry about than her, and besides, she couldn’t stand the idea of letting him know how much she’d failed in keeping her quirks a secret.

Marinette had insisted on more than one occasion that she shouldn’t have to pretend to be someone she wasn’t and that she liked Chloé’s quirks. Chloé certainly believed the latter half of the statement, but the former? That could never happen, it was a fantasy.

Chloé shook her head vigorously to clear it of the uncomfortable thoughts. Today was supposed to be a happy day. She would finally get to read the new Princess Yuri. The hyper excitement that had faded during her talk with her father all rushed back as she pulled the volume out of the bag and clutched it close to her chest.

Grinning widely, Chloé threw herself onto the bed and exchanged the book for the bee plushie Marinette had made her for Christmas. It was her second favourite thing to hug after Marinette, after all. Now she was properly situated, Chloé eagerly flipped the book open to the first page and began reading eagerly.

Chloé couldn’t help but squeal excitedly every few pages as the story unfolded before her. Where the story had last left off, one of Akiko’s friends had been caught in the crossfire of a fight between her and the demons and had gotten hurt.

“Noooooo, Akiko! Your friends don’t make you weak!” Chloé cried out in distress as the heroine deliberately avoided the classmates she was friendly with and even turned down Mariko’s invitation to go to her house after school.

Chloé had spent years studying Akiko and Mariko’s expressions, in part as practice for understanding other people, but mostly because she was very much invested in these characters. But there was this one expression that Mariko would only make whenever Akiko’s back was turned and she never said anything to give Chloé the context she needed to decipher it. The closest she’d gotten was ‘forlorn’, but that didn’t quite seem to fully capture it.

The next few chapters were heart-wrenching to read, as Akiko continued to isolate herself while she continued to fight off demon incursions, repeatedly insisting to Pad that being attached to people hampered her mission and that she was a terrible friend anyway, constantly lying to them.

_ “My last partner was like that, and maybe it did make her a better Princess Yuri. But I don’t remember it making her any happier.’  _ Pad informed Akiko, who dismissed the familiar’s advice yet again with her assertion that she couldn’t bear to see someone she cared about get hurt again.

_ “Besides, it’s my fault! I’m the one who released the demons.”  _ Chloé was almost in tears as the chapter ended with Akiko walking past the window of her favourite café, all her friends not noticing her as they ate and laughed together.

“Akiko, whyyyyyyyyyyyy?!” Taking a moment to compose herself, Chloé continued reading. No matter how heart-breaking it was, she had to know what happened next, and was surprised to see that the next chapter wasn’t following Akiko like it always did. Instead, the opening panels depicted a dark room filled with shadows that, despite being just drawings, seemed to writhe in unnatural ways. There, sat presiding over it all, was the Demon King.

Chloé had wondered on a few occasions why the primary antagonist of the series had such a generic name, but she supposed it didn’t really matter what he was called. The series was about Akiko and her growth as a person, really the demon fighting took a backseat compared to that.

She read with rapt attention as the Demon King espoused to one of his lieutenants his latest plan for capturing human hearts.

_ “This girl… The one they call ‘Mariko’, the one with the purest of hearts. She has a friend. Capture her and bring her to me. The girl will surely follow with a heart as pure as hers, and it shall be ripe for the taking, and I shall be reborn!”  _ Chloé let out a soft gasp followed by a squeak of elation, she’d had a sneaking suspicion about Mariko, but this confirmed it! Mariko had almost always been present somewhere nearby during the demon attacks, far too often to be a coincidence to Chloé’s mind, and it turned out it wasn’t! The Demon King needed to steal people’s hearts in order to manifest himself on the mortal plane fully, and the purer the heart, the more powerful it was. No wonder Mariko was near the attacks, she was the target of them all along!

As the short scene of the Demon King’s lair ended, Chloé suddenly realised the demons were going to kidnap one of Mariko’s friends and hold her to ransom, and there was only one friend that Mariko cared so very deeply about.

“Oh no. Oh no no no no.” She muttered to herself as she continued to read, dread creeping down her spine until her fears were realised and Akiko was attacked and kidnapped by demons, leaving Pad behind, rendering her unable to transform.

The next scene opened with Akiko imprisoned in the Demon King’s lair as he toyed with her, completely unaware of her being Princess Yuri.  _ “I remember you, little human. You were the one who freed me, and I let you go. It does pain me that I must go back on my word, but you are far too useful as bait. And besides, once I have your friend’s heart, it won’t matter either way whether you are here or there.” _

_ “S-She won’t c-come.”  _ Akiko gasped out, trying to marshal her fear.  _ “I’m not worth it, I deserve this.” _

“Nooooooo. Akiko, you don’t deserve this!” Chloé sobbed, not bothering to hold back her tears as Akiko continued to be tortured, screaming out in pain as the chapter came to an abrupt end.

It took Chloé a few moments to compose herself after such a harrowing scene, carefully marking her place before hugging her bee plushie hard, wishing it was Marinette as she rolled over to gaze up at the canopy of her bed. The teasers had been right, this certainly was the major shake up that had been promised. After she was done, Chloé rolled upright and steeled herself to continue.

Again, the scene didn’t involve Akiko. Instead it opened with Mariko staring at Akiko’s empty seat in class. She hadn’t shown up for homeroom that morning and Mariko was starting to worry. Even though Akiko hadn’t been around much and ignored her messages, this was completely unlike her. Akiko never missed a day of school unless she physically couldn’t get out of bed.

Something was very very wrong, and things only got worse when the classroom door exploded inwards and a many-armed demon clawed its way into the classroom and loomed over the terrified teacher and students.

_ “Where is the one they call ‘Mariko’? I have a message for her.”  _ Nobody moved, not even Chloé as she observed the unfolding events.  _ “The one named ‘Mariko’ must come with me, otherwise the life of the one ‘Akiko’ is forfeit.”  _ There was a collective gasp from the students and Chloé could feel the fear etched on Mariko’s face as she slowly approached the demon and asked how she knew it was telling the truth.

As she did so, Chloé noticed on the edge of the panel a familiar… well... familiar... flit into the classroom as the demon showed Mariko a projection of Akiko’s tortured body.

“Mariko, don’t go! It’s a trap!” Chloé cried out as Mariko stepped forward, clearly distraught by what she’d seen as the class echoed Chloé’s concerns.

_ “I have to though, it’s what Akiko would do for me.”  _ Reluctant but still resolute, Mariko followed the demon in spite of her classmates’ protests. Just as the portal was about to snap shut behind them, Pad darted through after them.

Chloé was over halfway through by now and was absolutely terrified by what was happening. How could they resolve this in the last couple of chapters? The next few panels followed Mariko through the demons’ realm with its twisting passages that seemed to be made of darkness itself. Eventually, Mariko emerged into the Demon King’s chambers and screamed as she saw Akiko’s battered body tied to a wall by ichorous bindings. 

_ “At last, the pure-hearted one.”  _ The shadowed creature rumbled from the darkness at the far end of the room. With a flick of one of his long spindly fingers, the dark fluid holding Akiko released her and she collapsed to the floor, gasping in pain as Mariko rushed to her.

_ “Akiko, you need to leave now.”  _ She insisted, dragging her friend to her feet.  _ “I’ll be okay, Princess Yuri will come, I know it.” _

_ “Yes, flee, little one. I shan’t show you mercy a third time.”  _ The Demon King growled as he approached the pair, hunger gleaming in his blood red eyes.

“No, Akiko, don’t do it. You can’t just leave her!” Chloé wailed as the unheeding girl took a few unsteady steps away towards the corridor.

_ “I could just run, I have no powers, I’m useless right now.”  _ The internal monologue had shifted back to Akiko as she stood staring down the path to escape and freedom.  _ “If I stay, I could die, and there’d be no more Princess Yuri. Is Mariko worth that much?” _

“Yes she is!” Chloé screamed at the conflicted girl as she continued to hesitate. “She’s your best friend!”

With a screech of delight, Chloé read as Akiko held herself as tall as she could and turned back to face the Demon King.  _ “No, I’m done running away.”  _ The Demon King let out a menacing laugh that reverberated around the chambers, sending the writhing walls into a frenzy.

_ “You wish to die, little one? Is it because you believe death is the punishment you deserve for releasing me?” _

_ “No, I’m not going to die, not today. But I’d fight a thousand of you to keep Mariko safe, to keep all of humanity safe, because that’s what I do!”  _ As Akiko delivered her speech, someone called out for her from just off panel and Pad came barrelling into the room.  _ “Because that’s what Princess Yuri does!” _

The sound Chloé made probably wasn’t human, it was that high-pitched, as Akiko finished her amazingly badass decree with her transformation sequence. Chloé wished she could be that awesome, the only person who came close was Ladybug, though that superheroine had somewhat lost her lustre to Chloé since she’d been benched.

Returning to the manga, Chloé read eagerly as the sequence finished, leaving Princess Yuri in all her glory and a stunned Mariko just behind her.  _ “Akiko? You’re Princess Yuri?” _

_ “Run, Mariko. I’ll keep you safe.”  _ The magical girl promised, bringing her flower-topped staff to bear against the shadowy mass of the Demon King. With a burst of light that Chloé knew was pink from the full colour cover arts, Akiko charged at the villain and slammed into the inky blackness that composed his body.

This was the first time since the first volume that the Demon King had actually fought, and he was just as terrifying as he had then, perhaps even moreso. Akiko quickly found herself outmatched by the Demon King as he evaded almost all of her attacks, showing off his ability to travel through the walls and attack Akiko from all sorts of different angles.

“You can do it, Akiko!” Chloé cheered on the hero, despite her getting battered and already being weakened from the torture she’d endured. “No!” She couldn’t hold back the shriek of alarm as Akiko took a particularly bad hit which sent her crashing across the room.

_ “Leave her alone!”  _ Mariko shrieked at the Demon King, hurling her shoe at the thing, having nothing else to hand. This proved to be a bad idea, as whilst Akiko was still incapacitated from the last attack he swept over to Mariko, seizing her by the neck and holding her high above the floor, her feet kicking uselessly.

“No no no.” Chloé muttered to herself, terrified by what was happening but was unable to look away.

_ “You should have fled. Now your heart is mine!”  _ Mariko screamed in anguish as the Demon King thrust his hand into her chest where her heart was. Her scream was echoed by Akiko as she struggled to her feet, leaning heavily on her staff as the life was slowly drained from Mariko.

She wasn’t going to fail her, not now. Mustering all her magical might, Akiko aimed her staff at the distracted Demon King.  _ “Leave. Her. ALONE!” _

The next panel was blank, and the next few were faded as the bright light from the attack faded and the Demon King screamed. Howling in agony, he dropped Mariko’s body to the floor and glared hatefully at Akiko. She looked awful, completely drained, yet she still stood firm, staff still pointed straight at the Demon King.

_ “I got what I wanted. When we meet again, it will be your end!”  _ The Demon King proclaimed before slipping away into the wall. The moment he left the world began to shake and Akiko staggered over to Mariko’s crumpled form, detransforming and falling to her knees.

“She’s not dead, she can’t be dead.” Tears welled up in Chloé’s eyes. This couldn’t be it for Mariko, it simply couldn’t. Sakura-sensei would never do something like that.

_ “Mari? Wake up, we have to go.”  _ Akiko pleaded, shaking her friend’s shoulder as Pad flitted down to check her.  _ “Mari, please! I can’t lose you!” _

_ “The Demon King, he’s taken about half of her heart, she can’t survive with that much missing.”  _ He informed Akiko sadly, floating up to pull her away, but she refused to move. The tears in Chloé’s eyes spilled out as Akiko hunched protectively over Mariko’s body as the realm began to unravel around them.

_ “No, she can’t die. I won’t let her!”  _ Akiko insisted stubbornly.

_ “Unless you can get back her heart and replace what’s been stolen, she will.”  _ Pad told his charge firmly but not unsympathetically, her head shooting up at his words.

_ “Mine, she can take some of mine.”  _ Chloé felt about as shocked as Pad looked as he swooped in front of Akiko gesturing wildly.

_ “No, she can’t! Even if you could afford to just let her have some of your heart, it won’t stick. It needs to be her heart!”  _ Akiko met Pad’s gaze surprisingly evenly as she spoke.

_ “But it is hers. I didn’t realise properly before, but it’s always been hers.” _

Turning the page eagerly to see what would happen next, Chloé felt her jaw drop. The image took up the full page and showed, in confident pen strokes and loving detail, Akiko kissing Mariko as the world fell apart around them.

“What.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not dead! Sorry it's been so long since I updated, I was focusing on finishing another fic which kinda took up all my time the last few weeks. Still, I'm back now and it looks like Chloé's got some revelations in the near future. I hope the manga stuff comes off okay, I had some difficulty trying to work out how to portray it and had several ideas, up to and including commissioning someone to do all the art. 
> 
> Also, I've set up a [discord](https://discord.gg/4t3y25e) so feel free to join and stuff.
> 
> Big thanks to [machiavellianFictionist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/machiavellianFictionist) for proofreading and putting up with me in general. Lots of thanks too to the lovely [Ruby](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RubyAndNanaAO3) for beta reading and being my brave Prince~.


	19. Chapter 19

“What.”

Chloé wasn’t sure for how long she lay there staring at the full-page spread, but she just couldn’t tear her eyes away from the image.

_ Akiko _was kissing Mariko.

Akiko was _ kissing _Mariko.

Akiko was kissing _ Mariko _.

But… they were best friends! The best of friends! Like her and Marinette. Best friends didn’t kiss each other like that, except for that one time she and Marinette had, but that had been an accident. Only boyfriends and girlfriends kissed like that.

Chloé finally tore her gaze from the kissing girls and got up from her bed to pace the room, her bee plush still held close to her chest. Strange and confusing thoughts whirled around her head. This didn’t make sense, none at all. At the back of her head, however, a small voice that sounded irritatingly like Alix sing-songed that it made perfect sense and she knew why.

No, the voice had to be wrong. It had been a mistake, an accident, like her and Marinette’s kiss. It had to be, because the alternative didn’t bear thinking about. That hadn’t been the end of the volume though, there was still more to go. Chloé ceased her pacing and returned to her bed and the manga to finish reading. It looked like there was only an epilogue left, that would clear it all up and have a perfectly reasonable explanation for Akiko’s actions.

The final chapter didn’t carry on immediately, instead it opened in Akiko’s room as she woke up, looking rather haggard. _ “Careful, Akiko. You’re still weak after yesterday.” _Pad warned her as she stumbled into the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror.

_ “Why do I feel so empty?” _ The young girl asked as she went about her morning routine, her familiar flitting around her as she did so. _ “Everything feels so... muted.” _

_ “You gave a fairly large piece of your heart to Mariko. I’m surprised you’re still able to feel anything.” _The familiar continued to chide his charge as she brushed her teeth, but his speech was interrupted by the buzzing of Akiko’s phone which she snatched up.

_ ‘Can we talk before school? The usual spot?’ _It was a text from Mariko, and Chloé took note of the absence of the cheerful girl’s usual slew of emojis. Akiko shot off a quick text back to her friend before continuing to get ready for school, all the while her face was an expressionless mask, a far cry from her usual smile.

“This can’t be what she’s like now.” Chloé mumbled to herself as Akiko left her house, trudging along towards her school. One of the main appeals of the whole series was how positive Akiko could be. Even with her frequent depressive episodes, she still persevered and kept a smile on her face.

It was painful to read as Akiko made the long walk to school, each panel showing the various stages of her journey and each a dark callback to the first volume. Where once she’d stopped to pet a local cat, she walked past it, ignoring it altogether.

Finally, she reached the school and made her way up to the roof, where she and Markio would go at lunch to get away from everyone. As she emerged onto the roof, Mariko was already waiting, leaning against the railing and looking out over the town. As the door closed behind Akiko, Mariko heard and turned around, and Chloé was shocked to see her face was a mirror of Akiko’s dull expression.

As the pair caught sight of each other, however, their blank looks grew into wide joyous smiles, each panel intercutting between the two as they approached the other, their expressions growing more and more animated all rendered in Sakura-sensei’s gorgeous ink work. If there was one thing Sakura-sensei was good at, it was facial expressions, and she’d outdone herself with this page as the pair collided in the centre of the roof, tears of joy and laughter spilling out from the girls as they embraced.

_ “I-I can still feel.” _ Mariko choked out, tears streaming down her cheeks. _ “Thank God, I-I thought I was broken after that monster...” _

_ “It’s okay, it’s okay.” _ Akiko reassured her friend, though she too was crying messily. The pair didn’t stop hugging, not even when they fell to the floor, their arms remained wrapped around each other. _ “How much do you remember?” _Akiko eventually asked Mariko, pulling away a little to look her in the eye, but still holding her. 

_ “Most things, I think?” _ Mariko brushed Akiko’s long black hair out of her face as she always did to comfort her. _ “I remember following that monster because you were captured, and that he wanted my heart for something... and that you’re Princess Yuri.” _

Akiko blushed at the accusation as Mariko fixed her with an intense stare, which Chloé couldn’t help but laugh at a little. This was what they always did. This was normal friend stuff, like what she and Marinette did, partly because Chloé did push for them to emulate the pair. But it still didn’t explain the kiss, that was what Chloé needed to know about

_ “I guess I have some explaining to do…” _ Akiko launched into a brief explanation of what she’d been going through since she’d become Princess Yuri, all the while Mariko’s expression cycled through a variety of emotions. Fear, admiration, horror, joy, she ran the whole gamut. _ “I don’t know why we only started feeling again just now though, that’s something completely new.” _

_ “I can answer that.” _ Pad flitted out from Akiko’s school bag and introduced himself to Mariko, his head tilting curiously as his gaze fixed on her chest, right where her heart was. _ “Your hearts are incomplete. Akiko couldn’t give enough of hers to completely replace what was stolen from you and unless you can get back what’s been stolen you’ll continue to be like this. I’ve never seen anything like this before. Your hearts are bound together and they are so much stronger than any one on its own. Yet they shouldn’t be, they’re still incomplete, it doesn’t make any sense.” _

Pad continued to muse to himself flitting around the pair and scrutinising them as Mariko spoke up timidly. _ “Speaking of giving me some of your heart, I do remember one last thing.” _ The girl blushed deeply, an expression that was mirrored by Akiko. _ “You said something about your heart always being mine, and then you kissed me…” _

This was it. Finally, Chloé would get her confirmation once and for all that they were just friends and that it had been in the heat of the moment out of desperation to save the most important person in her life.

_ “I did. And I meant it, what I said, the kiss, everything. I love you, Mari. I always have, but I never realised until then.” _

Oh.

Chloé felt numb as she continued to read, the process almost mechanical, as Mariko replied that she loved Akiko too, and that now that their hearts were bound together, nothing could separate them. This wasn’t the only revelation though, as an explosion sounded in the distance and Akiko was forced to separate from Mariko in order to transform and go save the day. When she did so, however, there was a surprised shout from behind her. The next page had a similar feel to the kiss of the last chapter as it showed Mariko in full Princess Yuri regalia and looking completely baffled and more than a little scared.

Yet despite this massive reveal and all that it promised, Chloé was still out of it, as the last panel of the volume was one last full page spread of the two Princess Yuris caught in a passionate embrace and kissing each other deeply.

There was an afterword from Sakura-sensei, but Chloé really didn’t feel like reading it right now. Slowly, she closed up the book and set it on her bedside table so she could properly sprawl out over it. It hadn’t been a mistake. Akiko really had meant to kiss Mariko and apparently been in love with her forever. Even if Akiko hadn’t really known it, it still threw all her interactions with Mariko into question. Had they really just been friendly? Or had they meant something more?

Chloé briefly considered going through all the past volumes, looking for clues, but deep down she knew it was pointless. Alix had seen it, and Marinette had seen something more between them too. How had she missed this?

As she wondered this, something else dug into the back of her mind, something that she was trying her best to ignore. No matter how much she tried to ignore it, the voice that sounded like Alix whispered to her.

If Akiko and Mariko’s relationship needed to be re-examined under the lense of being a romantic relationship, then surely her and Marinette’s also deserved that same scrutiny. Chloé had, after all, based her interactions with Marinette on them after she’d seen the similarities between the two frie- relationships.

No, no no no. There was nothing to scrutinise between her and Marinette, nothing! They were just best friends, nothing more.

Were they though? Alix’s voice whispered as she stared up at the ceiling. Were they really just best friends? She and Sabrina hadn’t been nearly so close or touchy feely as she and Marinette were. That made sense though, she and Sabrina were only really best friends because Chloé had no friends other than Adrien.

Adrien was even more proof, she’d pursued and crushed on him for years.

Had she really liked him that way though? Question after question, fluttering around in her head like irritating butterflies. She needed to calm down. She was starting to get upset, and that would be a sure-fire way to get Hawkmoth’s attention.

Sitting up, Chloé took a couple of deep breaths, willing herself to relax and wondering if she should call down for some chamomile tea. She immediately dismissed the idea, however, as it brought to mind times when she and Marinette had sat together drinking the tea and enjoying each other’s presence, and right now Marinette was the last thing she wanted to think about.

Sighing deeply, she got up again and resumed her pacing, wringing her hands anxiously as she did so. She had not been expecting to go through all this today. She’d expected a fun time, not self doubt and introspection.

Back and forth she paced, still trying to make everything make sense in her head. It really shouldn’t be this difficult, Akiko and Mariko were evidently both attracted to girls and Chloé had missed it, that should be it, end of discussion. So why the hell was she still pacing her room thinking about it?!

This was getting her nowhere, both literally and metaphorically. Uneasy frown still firmly in place, she made her way out onto her balcony, where she planted her hands firmly on the railing along the edge and let out a frustrated screech. That didn’t solve anything, but it did at least make her feel a lot better.

Turning to face away from the Paris skyline, Chloé leaned back heavily and let her head loll back to look up at the clear sky. It had actually been a surprisingly good January in terms of weather so far, aside from about a week ago when Aurore had gotten akumatized into Stormy Weather again.

The chill air actually helped Chloé, it certainly took her mind off her uncomfortable thoughts. Her attempt at relaxation was interrupted, however, by her phone buzzing in her pocket. Pulling it out, she was surprised to see it was Alix calling. She’d only given her number to the skater fairly recently and she hadn’t yet taken advantage of it until now.

As she stared at Alix’s name, a thought occurred to her, rising from the morass of doubt that she’d been trying to ignore and relax from. Why was Alix calling now? She had been the one to try to point out to Chloé that Akiko and Mariko were more than friends. It couldn’t be a coincidence that she was calling on the day that it was explicitly revealed they had romantic feelings for one another.

There was only one explanation, she was calling to gloat about being right. Fuming quietly, Chloé hit the answer call button and raised the phone to her ear.

“Yo, Chloé, how’re you doing?” Alix asked, her relaxed and casual tone only irking Chloé more.

“Cut the crap, Kubdel. Just get your gloating over with, so we can both get on with our days.” She snarled, standing up from the railing to pace the balcony restlessly.

“Wha-? Gloating? What am I supposed to be gloating about?” Either Alix was genuinely confused about what Chloé was talking about, or she was a really good actress. Chloé chose to believe the latter.

“Don’t pretend, you knew the new volume of Princess Yuri was released today. I bet you’ve just been waiting for this moment, haven’t you?”

“Chloé, I have no fucking clue what you’re talking about.” Alix’s tone turned harsh as she snapped back at Chloé. “But if you’re going to be bitchy to me when I haven’t done anything, then I’m just going to hang up.”

“You read what happened in the new Princess Yuri and you just had to call to gloat about being right about Akiko and Mariko.” Chloé hissed in accusation, though she did tone down the anger in her voice a little. She still wanted the satisfaction of calling out Alix for her crimes.

“I didn’t even know that was coming out today!” Alix shrieked down the phone in protest. “I’m not a massive weeb like you! I’ve been out skating all morning.” Chloé blinked in surprise as she hesitated in her response. This was going awfully far for someone who wanted to gloat about being right about something.

“You didn’t read it?” She asked tentatively, all the righteous fury in her had drained away, leaving an even worse feeling of self-doubt with an added flavour of guilt.

“No! Chloé, what the fuck is up with you? You’re acting like you used to before you and Marinette were friends.”

Groaning quietly, Chloé ceased her stalking and collapsed into the nearest sunlounger. “I’m sorry, Alix, I’ve been kind of stressed.”

There was a snort of derision from the other end of the line. “Suuuuuure… That’s definitely it.” Alix started muttering to herself, her words half audible down the phone, so Chloé could only pick out a few words. She definitely heard Alix say something about Akiko, and Mariko and Chloé seriously considered interrupting to end the conversation as soon as possible. Before she could execute this plan, however, Alix spoke again.

“Chloé, did they confirm Akiko and Mariko were gay and in love?”

“...Yes.” There was a silence from Alix, then very quietly. “Nailed it!”

Chloé let out a loud and exasperated groan. Alix may not have called to gloat, but she evidently didn’t have the self-control not to do it just a little. “You happy?”

“Kinda? I’m still kinda pissed you were shouting at me for something I didn’t do, and kinda confused about why you were so mad at me.”

“I thought you were calling to gloat, of course I was mad.” Chloé tried to defend herself, unwilling to elaborate on exactly why she was upset, not that she could properly articulate it anyway.

“Nah, see. I get not being best pleased about a bit of gloating ‘cause they got vindicated, but you were fucking livid. Like, I’m surprised you didn’t get akumatized on the spot, you were that pissed off.” Upon being reminded of why she’d gone out onto the balcony in the first place, Chloé looked around wildly, momentarily terrified that an akuma might have snuck up on her.

But there was no dark butterfly fluttering around, and she breathed a deep sigh of relief. She may have fought them off before, but she was not exactly eager to put that ability to the test again.

“Hey, Chloé? You still there?” Alix asked with a touch of concern.

“I’m still here.” Chloé reassured Alix and there was a sigh of relief from the skater.

“Good, for a moment there I was worried I was right about the akuma and you were going to come hunt me down.” There was a small chuckle from Alix before she continued. “So what’s got you all on edge then?”

“Nothing, I’m fine.”

“You’re not Lila, Chloé, so don’t lie to me.” Chloé could picture Alix’s eyes narrowing as her voice turned harsh, much like it had done that time Lila used _ that _ word. “You’re not pissed off because Akiko and Mariko are into girls, are you?”

“No! No, I’m not!” Chloé squawked in flustered protest, feeling oddly offended by the suggestion.

“Well, what else could piss you off about this new Princess Yuri and the two leads being into each other?” Alix shot back. “Do you ship Akiko and Satoshi? Or Mariko and Harada? Or-.” Alix’s suggestions continued, blurring into a mess as they became more and more outlandish and gnawed at the back of her mind. The real Alix’s voice mingled with the one in her head that kept insisting Chloé knew exactly why she was so upset.

“If Akiko is into girls then it means I might be as well!” Chloé finally burst out, unable to more of Alix’s wild and inane suggestions. She regretted her outburst exactly four seconds later when her brain caught up with her and she slapped her free hand over her mouth in a vain attempt to cram the words back in.

There was an awkward silence on Alix’s end of the line that was finally broken by a faint. “Oh.” Another silence then, Alix asked tentatively. “Are you still there, Chloé?”

The blonde didn’t answer immediately, and she was desperately tempted to just hang up and go hide in bed. Eventually, she lowered her trembling hand to answer. “Yes, I’m still here.”

“Do… Do you wanna talk about it?” Alix offered, her voice an uncomfortable mix of anxiety and sympathy.

“I-I don’t know…” Chloé whimpered quietly, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arm around them.

“Hey, hey. It’s okay.” Alix soothed, making soft shushing noises that Chloé never thought she’d hear from the girl who prided herself on her tough image. “Maybe start from the beginning. How does Akiko liking girls mean you might like girls?”

Chloé hesitated, unsure of whether she should answer or not. Maybe getting things off her chest would help and Alix was pretty much the only person she could confide in with Adrien non-responsive and Marinette out of the question.

“I’m not good at friendship, so when Marinette and I became friends, I saw some similarities between our friendship and Akiko and Mariko’s, so I based ours on theirs.” There was an expectant hum of understanding from Alix. “I just thought it meant we were best friends.”

“Just going through the same motions of Akiko and Mariko’s relationship doesn’t mean you like girls though.” Alix pointed out, admittedly rather sensibly.

“But it’s not just copying them!” Chloé bemoaned, releasing her grip on her legs to flop back on her sunlounger. “I feel the same way about Mari as Akiko does about Mariko.”

“Do you though? Or do you just think you do because you see yourself in Akiko?”

“I’m pretty sure.” In talking things through with Alix, Chloé could feel the pieces sliding into place, the confused upset from the revelation coming into clarity and she wasn’t sure if that was a good thing. “I want to be near her all the time, I never want to see her sad and when she is, all I want to do is make her smile again. I like hugging her and touching her and-.” Chloé paused, taking a deep breath before the words came tumbling out shamefully.

“We kissed once, accidentally, and… I liked it.” She hadn’t admitted it to herself at the time, but thinking back on it, the event having seared itself into her memory, she had enjoyed the brief contact more than she’d care to admit. The softness of Marinette’s lips, the taste of her cherry lip gloss and the warmth that had filled her chest, she could remember it all perfectly.

“Chloé… That’s really kinda gay…” Chloé nearly choked. She could deny it when it was just her thinking these things, dismiss them as the mean comments of the darker parts of her psyche that sounded like her mother. But hearing Alix say it, it was all too much.

“No. Nononono.” She muttered, the negativity from before flooding back in. “I’m not gay, I can’t be gay.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Alix tried to interrupt Chloé, but her panic was growing too great. Dear God, it made sense, horrible horrible sense. All the affection, the touching, the warm feeling whenever they were together. She, Chloé Bourgeois, was in love with Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

“Chloé? Chloé?” She was hyperventilating, she couldn’t think.

“Sorry, I have to go.” She managed to choke out in between panicked breaths. She ended the call without waiting for an answer from Alix and dropped her phone off to one side. She curled up into a small ball and tried to get her breathing under control.

It was wrong, wrong wrong wrong. She couldn’t be in love with Marinette. She’d tortured the poor girl for years, the guilt of which still gnawed at her every so often. If Chloé were to confess to her, it would ruin everything. Chloé still wasn’t sure why Marinette was her friend after she’d been so cruel. No matter how many reasons Marinette gave, Chloé knew it wasn’t enough, and if Marinette got even a hint of the extent of her feelings, it would be the end for them.

Perhaps even more importantly, she could not be gay, just like she couldn’t let anyone know about her quirks. It would be awful for Papa’s reputation if it got out that his only daughter was gay, and after everything she’d done to make his life hard, she couldn’t do this to him.

Tears pricked at her eyes as she came to the inevitable conclusion. Nobody could know. She had to keep herself and her feelings a secret, no matter how much it hurt. It was what she had to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chloé, noooooooo! At least she had Alix to help her a little though, so that's good. Things probably aren't going to be great for poor Chloé though. Hopefully she won't end up damaging her relationship with Marinette because of it.
> 
> Also, I've set up a [discord](https://discord.gg/4t3y25e) so feel free to join and stuff.
> 
> Big thanks to [machiavellianFictionist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/machiavellianFictionist) for proofreading and keeping me sane during lockdown. Lots of thanks too to the lovely [Ruby](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RubyAndNanaAO3) for beta reading and being my sweet prince.


	20. Chapter 20

Chloé wasn’t avoiding Marinette, at least not completely. After all, it wasn’t as though she could avoid her all the time, they sat together in all their classes and were partners for projects. But that didn’t stop her from reducing the amount of time she spent with Marinette outside of schoolwork.

Much as it pained Chloé, she had to do this. Nobody could know of her feelings. Of course, she’d already failed at that part, which was how she found herself being pestered by the current bane of her existence.

“Come on, Chloé, just tell her already!” Alix whined as she skated circles around Chloé. In hindsight, going to the Trocadéro to avoid both Marinette and Alix had not been a great idea. In theory, nobody would think to look for her there, but in practice, it turned out the wide open and paved space was ideal for a certain roller skating enthusiast.

“Just shut up about it already!” Chloé hissed angrily, trying to focus on her homework, but kept getting distracted by Alix skating in and out of the corner of her eye.

“Hey, I’m trying to help you here.” Alix finally came to a halt and flopped onto the bench Chloé had claimed.

“I don’t need your help.” Chloé asserted forcefully, scratching out a mistake with more vehemence than necessary. “I don’t need _ any _help.”

“Yeeeeeah, really convincing, Chloé.” Sarcasm dripped from Alix’s voice as she pulled out a bottle of water and drank about half of it in one go. “I told you, it’s okay for you to be ga-.”

Alix’s proclamation was cut off by a loud shushing from Chloé, who looked around in a panic, terrified someone might have overheard. “What the fuck, Alix? Shouting it out like that. I already told you, nobody can know.”

“There’s hardly anyone here, and they don’t give a fuck about who we are.” Alix scoffed, setting aside her water bottle. “I’ll prove it.” She then proceeded to whistle loudly at a passing woman to get her attention. “Hey, do you know who we are?”

The woman paused to scrutinise the pair. “I don’t know about you, but that’s Mayor Bourgeois’ daughter.”

“Right... thanks for your time.” Alix deflated a little as the woman shrugged and continued on her way. “Okay, so maybe people do know who you are.” She admitted reluctantly, scowling and folding her arms. “Still doesn’t mean they’d care that you like girls. No one gives a fuck about Juleka and Rose being together.”

“What?”

“Y-You didn’t know Juleka and Rose are into girls?” Alix’s voice was choked as she stared at Chloé, who wilted a little under her scrutiny.

“No, of course not.” Flushing with embarrassment, Chloé turned away and folded her arms. Alix groaned in quiet exasperation.

“They’ve been dating for months now, Chloé. They aren’t all that subtle and they’re really quite open about it. How can you not have noticed that?”

“I’m not good with people or picking up hints like that, okay?” She sniped back and glared at Alix, irritation bubbling up inside her as she was reminded once again of one of her quirks that was an undeniable shortcoming. Thinking about it, she had noticed that Juleka and Rose did seem very close, but had assumed they were just like her and Marinette. She felt like hitting herself for not realising how right she was, even if it was for the wrong reasons.

“Alright, alright. I’m sorry.” Alix held up her hands in surrender, which Chloé eventually accepted, though not without giving Alix a long baleful glare.

“Anyway, it doesn’t matter what people think about Juleka and Rose. They’re allowed to be gay, I’m not.”

“Oh I can’t wait to hear this leap of logic.” Alix snarked, folding her arms and raising an eyebrow.

“Isn’t it obvious? I exist in a different social strata to them, to pretty much all of our classmates. There’s a different set of rules for people like me.”

“You think I don’t know that? You seem to forget I used to run in those same circles before I changed up my look, and even if I’m not attending the fancy galas and shit, I can’t escape it completely.”

“Is there a point to this?” Chloé asked testily, not liking how Alix kept trying to pick her perfectly sound reasoning apart.

“Well, I’m pretty sure nobody gives two shits about me being a lesbian.”

“What?” Once again, Chloé was struck dumb by this sudden outing.

“I’m a lesbian? Was it not obvious?”

“Evidently not! Bad at reading people, remember?”

“Oh yeah, I got pissed off about Lila using a slur because I’m such a passionate ally.” Alix paused for a moment in her sarcasm. “Okay, actually that was a dumb example, since allies should get pissed off about shit like that.”

“Again, is there a point to this?” Chloé reminded Alix before she could go further off on her tangent.

“Right, yeah. Point is, if nobody cares about me being gay, then you should be fine.”

Chloé let out a mirthless laugh at Alix’s naiveté, earning her a curious look from the skater. “If only it were as simple as you think it is. Do you know the sort of platform my father runs on?”

“Not really. I haven’t really paid much attention to local politics. Probably should, now that I think of it.” Alix’s face twisted in thought and confusion.

“He courts a right-wing voter base through a ‘family values’ platform.” Alix’s eyes lit up in understanding and she let out a soft ‘oh’. “Do you have any idea how much damage it would cause to him if it got out his own daughter was one of the ‘moral degenerates’ a lot of his voter base despises?”

“It wouldn’t be good, would it?”

“No, it wouldn’t, so I’m not going to do this to him.” Chloé set aside her homework papers in order to pull her feet up onto the bench and her knees up to her chest. “I’ve been an awful daughter, I refuse to be even worse.”

Alix didn’t seem to have an immediate answer to this, so instead she reached out to pat Chloé on the shoulder, only for Chloé to shy away a little from the contact. “I’m sorry, Chloé.”

“Don’t be. Even if I could be gay, it doesn’t even matter. Mari would never like me back.” Chloé continued to wallow in her misery, burying her face in her knees and muffling her voice. “I tormented her for years. A couple of months of friendship does nothing to wipe that away. _ Nothing _ will wipe it away.”

Chloé didn’t quite know why she was spilling her guts to Alix like this, maybe because she had literally no one else to turn to, but she was in too deep so there was no point stopping now. “I want to be a better person, to be a hero, and I’ve been trying so hard. But in the end I’m still just a selfish brat.”

Alix remained silent for a while, fiddling with the laces on her skates and looking around the square as though some answer would present itself to her. “It’s not selfish to want something for yourself, y’know.”

“Isn’t that pretty much the definition of selfishness?”

“I don’t think so?”

“Why are you asking me?”

“I don’t know what the actual definition is, but I think it’s only being selfish if you aren’t thinking about other people, which clearly isn’t what you’re doing.” Shrugging, Alix ceased her fiddling only to start drumming restlessly on the wood of the bench.

“And even if we’re using your definition, sometimes you need to put yourself and your wellbeing first. Like, I was only thinking of myself when I started presenting butch and pulled that stunt at that party. Was it a good idea? No, not really, but I don’t regret it one bit.”

“Putting myself first is what I’ve always done.” Chloé stubbornly reasserted, starting to grow tired of how pointless this whole conversation was. “And now I’m trying to put other people first, and you’re telling me I shouldn’t! That I should come out to the whole world and tell Marinette I love her!”

“I never said that last part.” Alix protested hotly, though she immediately gentled her tone after. “I’m just telling you that you shouldn’t suppress your identity for other people, not even for your father.”

Chloé had no immediate answer for that, at least not a new one. Why couldn’t Alix understand? She had to do this, it was the right thing to do.

Her short reverie was interrupted by a tentative question from Alix. “Do you though? Love Marinette, I mean.”

Damnit, she’d said that out loud hadn’t she? Groaning, Chloé flopped back against the bench and slid down it, letting her head smack against the backrest, not caring about the pain or how dirty it might make her hair.

“I don’t know.” She grumbled, glaring up at the sky as though it too was being a nuisance like Alix was. “I thought I loved Adrien, but I was wrong about that, so I guess I have no idea what love feels like.”

“Well, what made you think you were in love with Adrien?” Chloé had to pause to contemplate Alix’s question. It was actually a surprisingly difficult one to answer. Why had she thought she’d loved Adrien?

“I… I don’t really know that either.” She finally answered, doubt and uncertainty fluttering in her chest. “He was my only friend for so long, he was kind and always did what I told him to. He’s always been kind of a pushover, really.”

“That’s what you liked about him?”

“It meant he was safe, I guess. He wouldn’t push me to change or be better or anything like that.” Despite her earlier misgivings and irritation, talking things out with Alix was helping Chloé get her head in better order. “And now that I think about it, I don’t really want that in a partner.”

“You want someone who pushes you?”

“I do.” Chloé said firmly, her feelings finally taking shape. Adrien might have been kind and good to her, and the fact that he was rich didn’t hurt either. In fact, he was the sort of boy Papa would definitely approve of Chloé dating. But thinking about it, she could see their relationship going the exact same way as her parents’, and that was a very grim thought.

“It’s not like Marinette isn’t sweet and kind and supportive like Adrien is, but she also makes me want to be better and challenges me.” Chloé bit her bottom lip, thinking about the times Marinette had pushed her when she’d started getting whiny about having to do her own homework or how being nice to people was too hard.

“And it’s not just one-sided either. I know with Adrien, I would have just taken and taken and never given anything back to him. But with Marinette, I push her to be better too. Mutual self-improvement.”

“It sounds like you’ve put a lot of thought into this.” Alix pointed out shrewdly, and Chloé shot her a sidelong glance.

“I haven’t, I’m just saying the first things that come into my head.”

“I find those are the most honest thoughts. It’s hard to lie to yourself when you aren’t really thinking.”

“Is that why you’re so impulsive all the time?”

“Nah, I just have poor impulse control and get distracted easily.” Alix shrugged as she draped herself over the back of the bench. “But it hasn’t hurt me yet, well, at least not too badly.”

“A glowing recommendation if ever I heard one.” Chloé snarked back before sighing deeply. “I appreciate you listening to me ramble, but it doesn’t matter. It’s all academic, since we’ve already established Mari could never return my feelings.”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t say it earlier, but I will now. I do think you should tell Marinette about your feelings for her.” Chloé shot Alix a dark look.

“That’s not happening. It would destroy our friendship.”

“Do you really think your friendship with Marinette is so tenuous that it would break that easily?” When Chloé huffed and didn’t answer, Alix pressed on. “I’m not gonna insist you tell her, but I can tell you from personal experience that it will eat away at you, and it’ll only get worse the more time you spend with her.”

“Well, it’s a good thing I haven’t been spending as much time with her, then.” Chloé shot back, more than a little smugly, only for Alix to raise a skeptical eyebrow.

“And you think that she won’t notice and worry about why you’re avoiding her all of a sudden?”

“I’m not avoiding her completely, I’m not Adrien.” Chloé actually took a sort of perverse pride in her plan. “I’ve just cut back on any time we spend together in a non-academic context. Really, just sitting next to her during school is just about all I can manage. I don’t know how I’d cope if I had to spend more time in her presence.”

“Right… So what are you going to do about the trip to London?” It felt as though the bottom of Chloé’s stomach fell out, leaving a deep yawning pit in its wake.

“What?” She squeaked, fear starting to prick at the back of her mind.

“The trip to London next week, the one we had to partner up for.” It wasn’t that Chloé had forgotten about the trip, on the contrary, she’d been looking forward to seeing the sights with Marinette. Of course, now with her recent revelation, all that excitement was fast becoming panicked anxiety.

This was bad, this was very very bad. There was no way she’d be able to cope with spending an _ entire day _ in Marinette’s company, not now. Shit, she was starting to hyperventilate. This was also bad, especially since she was in public. She needed to calm down. Marinette normally helped with that, but thinking about Marinette only made it worse.

“Shitshitshit.” She hissed to herself, burying her face in her knees in the hope that if she was going to have to ride this out then, at least her face would be concealed.

“Uh, Chloé? You okay?” Chloé didn’t answer, she was too busy trying and failing to get her breathing under control. “Shit, okay, Chloé, just try to keep breathing or something. I’m gonna call Marinette.”

Nononono, that was the worst thing Alix could do. Chloé tried to tell her not to, but she couldn’t get the words out, get any words out. Her voice refused to work and she could only listen on in mounting horror to Alix’s mutterings as she tried to reach Marinette.

“Come on, Marinette. Pick up, for fucks sake, your girlfriend’s freaking the fuck out and I have no clue what to fucking do.” Chloé was almost relieved when Marinette didn’t pick up. Almost.

“Ah fuck.” Chloé could hear Alix shuffling around beside her and feel the hand approaching her shoulder. No, touching was bad. With an undignified flop, she managed to roll out of the way of Alix’s questing hand as she continued to shiver and quake with each painfully rushed breath.

“Don’t.” She just about managed to gasp out as Alix continued to try and give physical comfort to Alix.

“Okay, no touching, got it.” Chloé heard Alix retreat back to her side of the bench. “Fuck, what the fuck am I supposed to do?” She asked of no one in particular, not that there was anyone who could give her a coherent answer.

Instead Alix sat in silence, though she returned to drumming out a rhythm on the bench, far more frantic and anxious than her earlier one. Surprisingly though, despite its frenetic tempo, Alix’s drumming did give Chloé something to focus on as she worked on slowing her breathing.

It was fine, everything was going to be fine. She could deal with Marinette for one day, just one. Then they could both continue as before, as friends and nothing more.

After what felt like hours, though Chloé knew it couldn’t have been more than fifteen minutes at most, Chloé uncurled from her ball. Her breathing was still a little strained, but it had at least returned to a normal pace. Chloé blinked in the bright mid afternoon and looked around, worried someone might have seen her freak out.

“Oh, thank fuck.” Alix groaned in relief from beside her. “I was really fucking worried about you. Marinette wasn’t answering her phone either.” Thank God she didn’t, Marinette probably would have rushed over without a second thought, and who knew where that would lead, but Chloé knew it would be nowhere good.

“You doing okay? That looked pretty bad.”

“I’ll be fine. Can we not talk about it, please?” Alix nodded reluctantly as shame bubbled in the pit of Chloé’s stomach. She’d just had a freak out in public. She hadn’t even had an episode like that in weeks, not since the ‘False Queen’ incident, as it was now called. Her being in love with Marinette really was getting to her. “I should actually get home.” Chloé started collecting her things as Alix hummed in agreement, getting up and skating lazy circles around her.

“Sure, you mind if I come with for a little while?” Chloé hesitated for a moment before nodding and starting to make her way back to the hotel, Alix skating alongside her. They travelled in silence for a couple of minutes before Alix spoke up, mild confusion in her voice. “Y’know, what with all the shouting and anger back there, I’m surprised an akuma didn’t show up.”

“Maybe Hawkmoth’s finally learned that it’s not worth akumatizing me.” Chloé shrugged. It was common knowledge amongst the class that she’d been able to ward off getting akumatized, but she hadn’t shared how she’d managed to resist Hawkmoth directly. Nobody would believe her anyway.

“I don’t know…” Alix hummed sceptically. “Hawkmoth doesn’t strike me as the sort to just leave a juicy target alone unle-.”

BOOM!!

Alix’s hypothesising was cut off by a massive explosion behind them, and they spun around to see the top half of the Eiffel Tower had been neatly cut off and fallen onto the square where they’d been sitting just minutes ago. Flitting around the destroyed monument, Chloé could see Ladybug and Chat Noir as they fought whoever this new akuma was. Seriously though, what was it with Akumas and destroying Paris’ landmarks like this?

“Unless he found a juicier target.” Alix concluded her thought as she stared up at the battle.

“We should get out of the way.” Chloé was already running for cover. She’d learned her lesson about fighting Akumas without her Miraculous, and it seemed like Ladybug and Chat Noir had things in hand. Confident her assistance would not be required this time, though she was sure the fight would be done far faster if she were to help out, Chloé and Alix fled the scene.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well at least Chloé's gained some self-awareness now, right? I never actually planned for Alix to have quite this big of a role in the story, but don't regret it, I enjoy her irreverence. Who knows how this trip to London is going to go though, sure hope nothing bad happens.
> 
> Also, I've set up a [discord](https://discord.gg/4t3y25e) so feel free to join and stuff.
> 
> Big thanks to [machiavellianFictionist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/machiavellianFictionist) for proofreading and being super cute. Lots of thanks too to the lovely [Ruby](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RubyAndNanaAO3) for beta reading and always reassuring me.


	21. Chapter 21

It had been a couple of days since Chloé and Alix had talked at the Trocadéro and Chloé had admitted to her feelings for Marinette. The trip to London was looming ever closer, yet Chloé still had no idea of what she was going to do about it. Just the idea of having to sit beside Marinette on the train and spending the entire day in each other’s company was enough to start making her freak out, and she’d be forced to find somewhere quiet to ride it out without Marinette to help her. 

In the absence of a better plan, Chloé had doubled down on her original plan of avoiding Marinette whenever possible. Unfortunately, this stepping up of her avoidance did not go unnoticed.

“Chloé, where are you going?” The blonde in question froze mid-step, balancing precariously on one foot as she looked back to see Marinette jogging towards her. School had finished for the day and Chloé had spent the last five minutes of the lesson hiding in the toilets, waiting for Marinette to leave so that she could go back, grab her bag and get back to the hotel.

The first two parts of the plan had gone off without a hitch, it was the sneaking out of school and getting back to the hotel where it all had fallen down.

“I was just heading home.” Chloé chirped in what she hoped was a believably happy tone as her insides twisted themselves into knots from Marinette’s mere presence.

“But I thought we were going to watch that new anime I found.” Marinette cocked her head in confusion as Chloé felt a stab of guilt right through the heart. She remembered now idly agreeing to that whilst trying desperately to concentrate on her work and not on how unfairly pretty the girl beside her was.

“Right, yes, I did say that…” Chloé slowly lowered her foot to the ground as she hastily tried to cobble an excuse together but Marinette beat her to it.

“If you’re too busy though, we can always watch it another day.” Chloé almost wished she could go back to the times when she was blind to Marinette’s less obvious emotions. She could actually hear the undercurrent of hurt and disappointment in Marinette’s voice now, and she was loath to hear it.

“No, no, I’m not too busy.” Chloé answered hastily, trying to alleviate the guilt she felt settling in her stomach. “We can watch it.”

“Great!” Marinette brightened up immediately, her sunny smile returning and making Chloé’s heart clench as she saw it. Marinette had no right to be this radiant, and it would be the death of poor Chloé if things were to continue like this. “I’ve heard good things about this series.”

“What’s it about, again?” Chloé asked as the pair walked out of the school together and headed towards the hotel. Chloé hadn’t taken her limo to collège in weeks, having decided that, until she was able to work up the motivation to work out properly, the walking would suffice. The fact that it had made going round to Marinette’s house in the afternoon easier was a handy bonus.

“Oh, it’s this slice-of-life series about two girls who are super into astronomy.” Grinning happily, Marinette casually linked her arm with Chloé’s. “It’s supposed to be really cute.” Chloé wasn’t listening properly though, her mind had gone completely blank the moment Marinette touched her.

This was bad. Bad bad bad. Her mind repeated the word over and over until it lost all meaning but the feeling still remained. She wasn’t allowed to feel this way about Marinette, she just wasn’t. Chloé tried to force herself to think of the devastating consequences of loving Marinette, how it would ruin her father’s career and how Marinette could never return her feelings and would no doubt stop being her friend over them. But all her mind could really focus on was how warm and right it felt to have Marinette by her side.

“You okay, Chlo?” Marinette’s concerned voice broke Chloé from her reverie.

“I’m fine.” She lied quickly, though she was most definitely not fine. Hearts should not beat this quickly. “I’m just excited to watch this with you, you have great taste in anime.”

Chloé silently cursed how easily complimenting Marinette came to her. If given the option, she’d happily sing Marinette’s praises for hours on end and probably never run out of things to say.

No! Bad Chloé! No thinking about Marinette like that! She was Chloé’s friend, her  _ best  _ friend. She knew now things like that weren’t best friend things at all. How long had she been in love with Marinette anyway? Technically, this should be another forbidden line of thought, but Chloé couldn’t help but wonder.

They made some more small talk as they walked, Chloé spending most of her time deflecting questions back onto Marinette so she wouldn’t be forced to talk and have the chance to accidentally admit to something damning, like her currently overwhelming urge to bury her face in the crook of Marinette’s neck and smell her hair like some freak.

As they entered the hotel, however, they were met with a surprise. Mayor Bourgeois was standing in the lobby and he seemed to be waiting for them, or rather for Chloé, as once he caught sight of them, he approached, eyeing Marinette curiously.

“Princess, there you are. I was waiting for you.” Hastily untangling her arm from Marinette’s, Chloé stood up a little straighter, trying to convey her previous haughty attitude.

“Whatever for, Papa?” Chloé cocked her head, affecting curiosity.

“Well, I was thinking about what you said about no longer being friends with Sabrina, and I thought I might be able to help.”

A chill ran down Chloé’s spine and she felt Marinette look at her in concern. “How did you think you could help exactly?”

“Well, I made a few calls to the school and to M. Raincomprix, and I arranged for you and Sabrina to partner up for your trip to London, and got you both first class tickets!” Chloé could swear she felt a vein in her forehead start to bulge as she tried to control her expression at her Papa’s interference.

“Papa, I told you you didn’t have to do anything.” Chloé gritted out, trying to keep her voice calm, though it was still rather brittle and she felt even more guilt fill her as her father’s face fell.

“Aren’t you happy, Princess?”

Chloé had to take a deep breath before answering. “No, it’s fine. Thank you for your help, Papa.”

With Chloé’s approval, Mayor Bourgeois’ beaming smile returned. “Excellent, I’m glad I could help, Princess. Now you run along and have fun with your friend… Marissa. I’ve got important paperwork to do.” Chloé resisted the urge to bury her face in her hands as her father turned on his heel and trotted away to the lifts, humming a cheerful tune as he went.

“Are you alright, Mademoiselle?” Chloé hadn’t heard  Jean-François approach and she jumped a little when he spoke.

“Yes, thank you, Jean-François. Marinette and I are going to go up to my suite.” She sighed, before glancing over at Marinette to gauge her reaction to Mayor Bourgeois’ interference. She looked to be doing a better job of keeping her emotions in check than Chlo é, the only hint that she wasn’t happy about what had just happened was a small down turn at the corners of her mouth.

“Very well, Mademoiselle. If you need anything, just ring.” Chloé nodded her thanks to the butler and walked over to the lift, Marinette in tow. They didn’t speak as they rode the lift up to Chloé’s floor, not until they were safely ensconced in Chloé’s suite did she finally talk to Marinette.

“I’m sorry, Mari, I had no idea he was going to do that.” She apologised, dropping her bag haphazardly on the floor and flopping backwards onto her bed. 

“Don’t be sorry. It’s not your fault, Chlo.” Chloé felt the bed beside her depress as Marinette sat down beside her and, to her surprise, started to run her fingers comfortingly through Chloé’s hair. It felt good, almost too good, and Chloé was forced to hold back a soft whine of happiness at the contact with her crush. “But I am worried about you. Sabrina still kinda hates you, doesn’t she?”

“She does.”

“And I bet she won’t be pleased at being forced to be your partner.”

“I’m not best pleased about it either.” Chloé grumbled, though she did see the very faint silver lining that, at the very least, the decision about what she’d have to do about not being partnered up with Marinette had been taken out of her hands. She then remembered the rather compromising position she was currently in and all but bolted upright, surprising Marinette.

“Can we not talk about it anymore? Let’s watch the show you found.” Marinette looked for a moment like she wasn’t going to drop the subject, but after a moment capitulated and got up to walk into the living area of the suite.

“I’ve got it saved.” Marinette called over absently as she navigated through the menus of Chloé’s TV whilst the blonde watched her enviously. She had no idea how lucky she was, that she had the freedom to explore and express her sexuality, even if she chose not to right now. Marinette was so free of the responsibilities and history that weighed Chloé down.

Sighing softly, Chloé got up from the bed to join Marinette, who’d seated herself on the sofa, legs tucked up underneath herself as she scrolled through her saved series to find the right one. “Got it! You ready?”

Chloé nodded, perching regally on the sofa. Normally, when watching anime with Marinette, she’d curl up into Marinette’s side and take pleasure in the supportive warmth she offered. If she were to do that now, however, she was certain she’d have a heart attack or something. It was quite baffling to Chloé how a little bit of clarity regarding her feelings towards Marinette made things so different between them. Nearly every interaction between them now held romantic undertones on Chloé’s part, they probably had them even before she had her realisation. Now that she was aware of them though, they felt… dishonest. Acting with romantic intent without openly declaring said intentions... Marinette deserved better than that. She deserved better than Chloé.

Her decision to maintain a healthy distance between herself and Marinette was undone, however, as Marinette shuffled over to lean on Chloé’s shoulder, sending the blonde into yet another silent panic. In hindsight, having very few physical boundaries up until this point made it quite awkward to suddenly start setting them now.

The show started off normally enough, a young girl wandering away from her family’s tent whilst out camping to go stargazing before running into a boy and spent the night teaching him about the constellations.

“Is there something important about those stars?” Chloé asked as the shot panned up to focus on two stars in particular, separated by a cluster of stars that Chloé was fairly sure was the Milky Way.

“Probably? I don’t know.” Marinette shrugged against Chloé. “They’ve gotta be, if they’re focusing on them like that.”

Humming in agreement, Chloé continued to watch as the show jumped forward a few years, in the hopes it would take her mind off the warmth radiating from where Marinette made contact with her. It would be so easy to just lean over and kiss her, to get another taste of the cherry lip gloss Marinette was so fond of. But she couldn’t.

Instead, Chloé refocused on the anime as it went through what looked to be the usual motions of the first day at a new high school. She wasn’t actually sure what set this show apart from the various other slice of life animes they’d seen. There wasn’t anything objectionable about it, it just seemed rather samey and not worthy of the glowing recommendation Marinette had given it.

“Mari, not that I’m not enjoying this or anything.” Chloé eventually spoke up. “But if this doesn’t pick up soon, I’m not sure I want to keep watching it.”

“The reviews I read said you had to give it until at least the end of the first episode.” Marinette sounded a little disappointed that Chloé wasn’t really enjoying herself. Sighing, Chloé acquiesced to Marinette’s suggestion and wriggled back into the sofa, trying to put some distance between herself and Marinette under the guise of trying to get more comfortable.

After another few minutes of watching, Chloé felt Marinette shift against her. “Chlo, is there something wrong?”

“What?”

“The last week or so, you’ve been kind of distant.” Chloé turned to look at Marinette, only to find she was staring resolutely at the screen. “Avoiding me outside of classes, and you haven’t come round to my house either...” She finally tore her eyes away from the screen to look at Chloé, and she was shocked to see the beginnings of tears there. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No!” Against her better judgement, Chloé reached out to grab Marinette’s hands and was momentarily distracted by how soft they were. “No, you didn’t.”

“Then why have you been acting like this?”

“I…” For a brief insane moment, Chloé considered coming clean and telling Marinette everything but thought better of it. “I’m sorry, I’ve been distracted. I didn’t mean to ignore you like that.”

Marinette’s brow furrowed and Chloé wondered if she could tell she was being lied to. Thankfully she gave no indication of such a deduction, as her forehead smoothed out and she nodded in understanding.

“It’s okay, I get being distracted and forgetting about things. I was just afraid you were doing the same thing as Adrien.” Chloé almost winced at the reminder that that was pretty much exactly what she was doing. Marinette and Chloé had tried talking to Adrien and Kagami a couple of times since the bathroom incident, as Marinette was calling it, but the pair were surprisingly evasive. Chloé could probably learn a thing or two from them, actually.

Chloé opened her mouth to apologise again, when something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. Whilst they’d been talking, the anime had still been playing and, much to Chloé’s surprise, she watched as the main character was suddenly kissed by her new friend at the astronomy club. Her  _ female _ new friend.

“Chloé?” Marinette looked around to see what Chloé was so surprised by and didn’t seem at all taken aback as she caught the tail end of the kiss. “Oh, yeah, the reviews did mention that.” She then looked back at Chloé. “I assumed you’d be okay with it, since, y’know, you were fine with me being bi.”

“I am, I am!” Chloé squeaked, withdrawing her hands to wave them in surrender. “I was just surprised, that’s all.” Marinette accepted this. It helped that it was the truth, but she continued to look at Chloé curiously.

_ “Do you recognise me now, Kira-chan?”  _ Chloé was once again distracted by the anime in the background as the two leads continued to talk after their kiss.  _ “I kissed you like that before, remember? When you showed me Vega and Altair. I wasn’t a girl back then though… but I hope that’s not a problem for you.” _

“Huh?” Chloé’s confusion only increased as the scene was overlaid with a shot of the young boy from the opening scene.

“What is it, Chlo?” Marinette returned her attention to the screen and cocked her head. “I didn’t quite catch what she said.”

“Yui just said something about not being a girl before.” Chloé was still confused by this odd statement but it seemed to clear things up for Marinette who made a small noise of understanding.

“Ohhhhh, she’s trans.” That did nothing to clear things up for Chloé, but Marinette went on. “That’s cool! Though I probably wouldn’t have phrased it like that, feels kind of clumsy.”

“I still don’t understand.”

After blinking in surprise at Chloé for a moment, Marinette paused the show and turned to look at her properly. “You don’t understand what, exactly?”

“That word you used, trans, I don’t know what it means or has to do with this.” Chloé waved her hand in the general direction of the TV. 

“Oh, um... “ Marinette hummed in thought. “I’m not sure how best to explain it, and I’m not really the best person do so, since I’m cis.” Yet another word Chloé didn’t understand as Marinette tapped a finger against her chin.

“I guess the simplest way to put is is that it’s short for transgender, and it means you don’t identify with the gender you were assigned at birth.”

“I’m sorry, I’m being really stupid, but I still don’t understand what you mean.” Chloé frowned and started to draw in on herself.

“No, you’re not being stupid.” Marinette told her quickly. “Um, so I’m cis, which means that when I was born they decided I was a girl and I still identify as a girl.”

Chloé continued to stare blankly at Marinette, who rubbed at her temple in slight frustration. “Okay, imagine everyone thought you were a boy and kept insisting you were one.”

“But I’m not, I’m a girl.”

“Exactly.” It took a few seconds for it all to sink in, but when it did, Chloé felt as though she’d been smacked over the head with the understanding.

“Ohhhhhhhh, I think I get it now.” She smiled in relief at Marinette. “Thank you for being patient and explaining.”

“Yeah, well, it’s not the best explanation, but it gets the point across.” Marinette shrugged, a matching smile gracing her face. “Shall we continue watching, then?” Chloé nodded in agreement and settled back down as Marinette restarted the show. Oddly, she felt a little more at ease with Marinette after that, perhaps because it had been an ordinary conversation, devoid of implication or subtext. She liked those. If she could just keep the rest of her interactions with Marinette like that until her feelings went away, then she’d be fine.

As that thought crossed her mind, however, Marinette leaned in and rested her head comfortably on Chloé’s shoulder. Who the fuck was she kidding, there was no way that was ever going to happen. She was doomed. Still, if she was fated for doom, at least it was a pleasant one for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, guess Chloé's going to die of gay overload, she's had a good run. I kid, I kid. I do enjoy making small parodies of anime for this fic as well as the chance to include stuff from one of my favourite stories when I was growing up. The trip to London promises to be interestin, hope nothing major and life-threatening happens, that'd be a real shame. 
> 
> Also, I've set up a [discord](https://discord.gg/4t3y25e) so feel free to join and stuff.
> 
> Big thanks to [machiavellianFictionist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/machiavellianFictionist) for proofreading and being an absolute cutie. Lots of thanks too to the lovely [Ruby](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RubyAndNanaAO3) for beta reading and listening to me geek out about old folktales.


	22. Chapter 22

The day of the trip to London arrived and found Chloé awake far too early in the morning, waiting sullenly outside the hotel to be picked up by Sabrina and her father. That had been another part of her father’s ‘help’, he’d arranged for her to get a lift to the station from them rather than taking her own limo there.

Not helping Chloé’s mood was the fact that she’d been unable to talk to Marinette at all the last couple of days. She’d briefly wondered if it was payback for avoiding Marinette the last couple of weeks, but had ultimately dismissed the thought. Marinette wasn’t vindictive like that, she probably was just busy with one of her many commitments. Chloé did think that Marinette took on far too much responsibility and needed to learn to say no sometimes.

Whatever the reason, Chloé could have done with the moral support for the unpleasantness to come. Sighing deeply, Chloé continued to wait for her former friend to pick her up. It wasn’t like Officer Raincomprix to be late, and Chloé held onto the vain hope that something had happened to prevent him from arriving in time and that she could justify taking matters into her own hands.

Just as she was about to call for her driver, Officer Raincomprix’s police car pulled up in front of the hotel. As he got out, Chloé could see a very unhappy Sabrina sitting in the passenger seat and glaring at her.

“Miss Bourgeois.” Sabrina’s father greeted her politely, and if Chloé hadn’t had the practice with Marinette, she probably would have thought it was genuine. With her improved social skills, however, she picked up on some irritation in the man’s voice, which Chloé had the nasty feeling was probably directed at her. She imagined the busy police officer was not pleased with being tasked to ferry her to the station, not to mention Sabrina had probably told him all sorts of stories about how horrible she was.

Sighing quietly, Chloé followed Sabrina’s father to the boot of the car with her suitcase, which he helped her load. It may only be a day trip and the suitcase was probably unnecessary, but Chloé liked to be prepared.

With her things loaded, Chloé climbed into the back of the car and was immensely glad Sabrina was sitting up front rather than in the back with her. The redhead wasn’t even bothering to hide her animosity for Chloé, and the atmosphere in the car was so tense, Chloé was sure even her past uncaring self would have noticed it.

“Hi, Sabrina.” She ventured tentatively. If she was going to be stuck with Sabrina for the whole day, she may as well at least try to be polite, even if Chloé still hadn’t yet forgiven her. Sabrina made a small dismissive noise in response, keeping her eyes firmly ahead as her father got back in and pulled away from the hotel.

They rode in silence through the early morning traffic. Chloé hated it. but not enough to try and make any kind of conversation. Instead, she pulled out her phone, hoping Marinette had replied to her texts from last night. Sadly, there was no such message, and she tucked away her phone in disappointment.

She was starting to think that the stress of being in Marinette’s presence for the entire day would be preferable to this. Chloé wondered how Marinette was going to cope without her. With Sabrina forcibly partnered with her, Marinette would almost certainly be partnered up with whoever Sabrina’s partner was going to be, and it didn’t take much of a genius to work out who that would be.

Thinking about it, Chloé wasn’t actually sure which of them was worse off. Sure, it would be deeply uncomfortable to spend the day with her ex-best friend, though having to deal with Lila was something Chloé wouldn’t wish upon her worst enemy. Although given her current worst enemy was Lila, the point was somewhat moot.

Thankfully, they arrived at Gare du Nord within a few more minutes, and Chloé wasted no time in getting out of the car and unloading her case. Sabrina was painfully slow in getting out and getting her bag from the boot, all whilst pointedly avoiding looking at Chloé.

“Try to have a good time, ‘Brina.” Officer Raincomprix hugged his daughter before getting back into his car and driving off, leaving the two girls to find their class. It may have been brief, but it was more than Chloé had gotten from Papa. She hadn’t even seen him since he told her about the arrangements he’d made for the trip.

Chloé had been so lost in her moment of envy that she hadn’t noticed Sabrina had already started into the station, forcing Chloé to jog to catch up with her suitcase in tow.

“Sabrina, slow down, will you?” She called after her ex-best friend, but Sabrina did not slow down. If anything, she sped up. Fortunately, their platform wasn’t too far into the station, and Chloé spotted Mme Bustier waiting by one of the entrances to the Startrain.

“There you are. You’re both late, get on board.” The teacher instructed, stepping aside. Sabrina shook her head, however, and continued past. “Where are you going?”

“Don’t worry, Madame. Chloé’s father,  _ the mayor _ , arranged for us to be in first class.” Chloé could definitely hear the disdain in Sabrina’s voice as she informed the teacher of Mayor Bourgeois throwing his weight around again. Chloé gave the teacher what she hoped came across as an apologetic look before hurrying after Sabrina.

Chloé was now mildly regretting her decision to bring a suitcase with her, as she was forced to haul it up onto the train once they reached first class and proceeded to struggle for a few minutes to place it in the overhead luggage rack. All the while, Sabrina watched impassively, not actively mocking Chloé and her struggles but not offering any assistance either.

Once her suitcase had been successfully stowed, Chloé flopped down into her seat with a sigh of relief. The train would be departing soon and things could get back on track. She would never admit it out loud, But Chloé was rather fond of trains, mostly the ones that were fast and ran on time.

She’d considered a couple of times going interrailing around Europe once she was old enough, but the thought of things going wrong and being stranded in some unknown country was far too unnerving. Even this day trip was rather nerve-wracking, and only after reviewing the itinerary several times did she feel secure.

With a small lurch, the train pulled away from the station, and Chloé tried to relax into her seat. This proved easier said than done with Sabrina sitting beside her, staring listlessly out of the window and huffing every so often.

After about ten minutes of this, Chloé had finally had enough and got up abruptly, surprising Sabrina. “I’m going to see Adrien.” She informed Sabrina, and without waiting for an answer or acknowledgement, she marched off towards the back of the train.

She wasn’t entirely sure if there were rules about having to remain seated, but Chloé didn’t care right now. Nor did she particularly mind having half-lied to Sabrina about going to see Adrien. Seeing her best male friend would be good, if he was willing to talk to her for once, but it was Marinette she was most interested in talking to. Feelings be damned, Chloé wasn’t sure she’d be able to get through the entire day with Sabrina without spending at least a little time with Marinette.

It wasn’t hard to find the rest of her class and Mme Bustier. They were all together in the same carriage, along with Ms Mendeliev and her own class, the two teachers shooting Chloé odd looks as she entered. Studiously ignoring them, Chloé continued down the carriage looking for Marinette and Adrien. She was unsurprised when she saw Adrien was sitting with Kagami, the former gazing out of the window at the passing landscape whilst the latter almost seemed to be guarding Adrien.

As Chloé approached, Kagami narrowed her eyes at her and a small frown tugged at the corners of her mouth. Deciding it wasn’t worth dealing with the strangely protective girl, Chloé passed by without comment, still on the lookout for Marinette.

She hoped that her crush wasn’t saddled with Lila. Knowing the brunette, she’d probably do everything in her power to make them both miserable and keep them separate. Hopefully, if necessary, Chloé could bribe Lila with her seat up in first class, even if she did feel uncomfortable about exposing Sabrina to Lila even more.

Chloé thanked her lucky stars when she came across Marinette sitting beside Alix. Alix would happily let Chloé sit with Marinette, although, knowing the skater, she’d probably end up teasing her for ages about her crush.

“Hey, Chloé, I was wondering where you were.” Alix piped up when she noticed Chloé beside them. Alerted to Chloé’s presence, Marinette looked up and smiled warmly at her, making Chloé’s heart twinge.

“My father got me and Sabrina bumped up to first class.” She explained for Alix’s benefit. “I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind swapping seats, just for a little while. Sabrina’s not exactly happy about the arrangement.”

An evil grin flashed across Alix’s face as she got up and slipped out to allow Chloé to sit beside Marinette. “Yeah, no problem. I’m not gonna turn down getting treated fancy, and Sabrina’s kind of okay with me. You two have fun!” Alix’s parting remark was accompanied by a roguish wink and eyebrow wiggle which made Chloé flush lightly.

With Alix out of the way and trotting off up to first class, Chloé slid into her vacated seat and looked over at an adorable and unusually pink-faced Marinette.

“Hi, Mari. Enjoying the journey?” She asked, resisting the urge to lay a hand on Marinette’s.

“We’ve only been travelling for twenty minutes, Chloé.” Marinette giggled, and Chloé felt her cheeks heat up even more.

“Oh… yeah…” Chloé glanced away, praying nobody saw her making such a fool out of herself in public. Just talking to Marinette was becoming nearly impossible. This had been a bad idea. She should go catch up with Alix and ask to trade back seats.

“Are you okay, Chloé? You seem a little off.” Chloé jumped in surprise and looked back at Marinette, who was staring at Chloé with concern.

“I’m fine, just a little nervous. I’m not all that comfortable with leaving the city.” Chloé half-lied, hoping that Marinette wouldn’t probe any deeper. To her surprise, Marinette nodded in understanding and sympathy.

“That’s understandable. Paris is familiar to you and change can be pretty scary.” Chloé blinked at Marinette in puzzlement.

“Where did that come from?” She asked, her curiosity overcoming her anxiety at being around Marinette.

“Oh, well, you like things orderly and you hated being forced into new situations. And there was the whole thing with the lockers getting moved…” Marinette shrugged, looking more than a little embarrassed about something. “Promise you won’t get mad.”

That set alarm bells ringing in Chloé’s head and her eyes narrowed suspiciously at Marinette. “Not until you say what you’re about to say.”

“Okay, I maaaaay have looked some stuff up online relating to your… quirks, and I think I may have found a few things.” Marinette grinned sheepishly at Chloé, who frowned a little.

“And?”

“Well, I found a list of things that sounded like some of the stuff you mentioned, and it suggested that if you matched a lot of the items on the list, you might consider seeing a doctor about getting an assessment for-.” 

“No, absolutely not.” Chloé interrupted firmly. “No doctors. You know what could happen to Papa’s career.”

“But it could really help yo-.”

“No, Mari.” Marinette deflated a little under Chloé’s forceful glare which immediately made the blonde feel awful. “I’m sorry, you went and looked things up to help me and I’m being ungrateful.” Chloé started fiddling nervously with her fingers, twisting and twining them together. “I just… I can’t let Papa’s reputation get damaged in any way.”

“It sounds weird to say this, given how you used to be, but some things you need to do for yourself and not for other people.” Chloé looked up into Marinette’s bright blue eyes that silently pleaded with her to listen, but she couldn’t.

“I’ve done that enough. I should think about other people for a change.” Chloé looked away and she heard Marinette sigh in quiet disappointment.

“Well, it’s your decision.” She mumbled and Chloé heard her shuffle in her seat before speaking again. “So, are you looking forward to visiting Big Ben?”

“I don’t think we’re going to see Big Ben.” Chloé replied, thankful that Marinette was willing to let the subject drop.

“What? But we are, they even put a picture of it on the presentation they showed us when explaining the trip.” Marinette cocked her head in confusion.

“You mean Elizabeth Tower. Big Ben is the bell in the tower itself. It’s a common misconception.” Chloé informed Marinette, feeling just a little bit smug that she’d done fairly extensive research on London just in case something went wrong and she was stranded there.

“Oh, that’s pretty interesting.” Marinette did sound genuinely interested, unlike other people whenever Chloé tried to share something she’d found out. “What else did you find out about where we’re going?”

A smile grew on Chloé’s face and she launched into a detailed explanation of Elizabeth Tower and the ongoing restoration work there. Chloé ended up losing track of time as she talked, but it was a long time and was only made aware of it when Marinette suddenly yawned.

“No, don’t stop, I’m sorry. I’m not bored, I promise.” Marinette flailed wildly as she reassured Chloé. “I was up really late last night, and since we had to get up early this morning...” Chloé had to suppress the small fluttering in her chest at just how cute Marinette was.

“If you need sleep, Mari, you should get some. I’m pretty tired too.” Chloé stifled a yawn of her own, Marinette having set her off and reminded her that she was awake far earlier than she would really like to be.

“If you don’t mind?”

“Of course not.” Marinette smiled gratefully before shifting in her seat to get comfortable. Chloé briefly wondered whether this was a good idea, sleeping beside Marinette, but decided it would be fine. What was the worst that could happen?

* * *

“Hey, Chloé, wake up.” Chloé was pulled from her slumber by a none-too-gentle shaking. Blinking her eyes open, Chloé looked around in irritation for whoever had dared to wake her. She was distracted from her quest by something shifting beside her and a warm weight resting up her shoulder.

It took her a couple of seconds to realise exactly what the weight was, and she slowly turned her head to see Marinette’s face worryingly close to her neck. Too close in fact, far far too close. Chloé could feel her heart speed up tenfold as she also became aware that Marinette was also holding onto her arm like it was a teddy bear.

“Enjoying yourself?” Chloé’s head snapped around to look at Alix, who she realised must have been the one to wake her.

“What are you doing here?!” Chloé hissed at the impishly grinning skater. “And why aren’t you helping me?”

“I am helping you.” Alix smirked, showing Chloé her phone and the photo she’d taken of Chloé and Marinette snuggled up together as they slept. “I figured you’d want the memory preserved for posterity.”

“That is not helping.” Chloé tried to extricate herself from Marinette’s surprisingly tight grip. “And you didn’t say why you’re back here.”

“I got kinda bored of listening to Sabrina gush about Lila. I tried to tell her how terrible Lila is and how she’s just being used, but she just wouldn’t listen. I swear, Sabrina’s in love with her or something.” Alix grumbled, reaching over to gently disentangle Chloé from Marinette. “Maybe she’s just into mean girls or something, since I’m pretty sure she was crushing on you too.”

“That’s ridiculous.” Chloé snorted, wriggling out of the seat and allowing Alix to take her place, fighting back a small stab of jealousy as the sleeping Marinette adopted Alix as her replacement pillow.

“Sure, sure… Why is it the bitchy girls that get all the ladies?” Alix muttered to herself as Chloé rolled her eyes and headed back to the front of the train and first class. It was probably a good thing Alix had come when she had, lest something far more embarrassing than cuddling up to Marinette had occurred.

It didn’t take her long to get back to her original seat. Sabrina was naturally still there and her expression dropped as she saw Chloé approach. With a sniff of distaste, Sabrina pointedly looked away and out the window as Chloé sat down.

This was getting ridiculous. If they were going to be forced to spend the day together, they should at least be on speaking terms. Sighing in resignation, Chloé turned to Sabrina.

“Sabrina, will you please talk to me?”

“I have nothing to say to you.” Sabrina said shortly, still staring resolutely out the window.

“Please, Sabrina, we were best frie-.” Chloé tried, but was interrupted by Sabrina, who finally turned to fix her with an angry glare.

“We weren’t ‘best friends’. We weren’t even friends. I was your glorified slave.”

“I know i didn’t treat you well back then, but I want to make up for that. I’m sorry I treated you so poorly back then.” Chloé apologised, swallowing her pride. No matter what Sabrina had done to her more recently now that she was following Lila around, she was right. Chloé had been awful to Sabrina for years.

“You think a simple apology will make up for everything you did?” Sabrina scoffed, pulling her bag out from under her seat.

“No, but-.” Chloé started but she was interrupted yet again. This time, however,it wasn’t by Sabrina. As the redhead pulled open her bag, an Akuma fluttered out, and Sabrina screeched in fear.

Thinking quickly, Chloé scrambled out of her seat and pulled Sabrina with her. Fighting back anxiety at speaking in front of a bunch of strangers, Chloé stood tall and called out. “Everyone, there’s an akuma on the train, we should all evacuate the carriage!”

There was a sudden outroar from the other passengers, some panicked, others angry. “Why should we listen to you?” One voice shouted over the ruckus.

“Because I’m Queen fucking Bee and I know what I’m talking about. Besides, do you really want to risk not listening to me?”

“She’s not lying, there really is an akuma!” Chloé was surprised Sabrina was backing her up, but she supposed there were some things that were more important than some feud.

“Everyone, follow me, and whatever you do, try to stay calm.” Chloé instructed, and she began to lead the way down the train and waited by the door of first class. As the occupants passed her by, Chloé checked each one to make sure the akuma hadn’t hitched a lift on any of them. Ance the last passenger had left the carriage, she closed it, hopefully trapping the Akuma there.

With the Akuma trapped, Chloé breathed a sigh of relief. The problem was contained for now. Of course, there was still the problem of purifying the akuma. Ladybug never showed up unless someone was actually akumatized, and even if someone were to be akumatized, they weren’t in Paris anymore. Glancing out of the window, Chloé was surprised to discover they were already in the channel tunnel. She must have slept through the announcement.

All the commotion of evacuating the first class car had managed to attract the attention of the rest of the train and Mme Bustier pushed her way to the front of the crowd.

“Chloé, what happened? Something about an Akuma?”

“An Akuma managed to get on the train. It hasn’t infected anyone yet and I trapped it in the first class car.” Chloé announced proudly as Mme Bustier peered through the glass door that separated them from the car.

“I don’t see anything.” She said, pulling back and looking back at Chloé with a disappointed frown.

“There was definitely an akuma.” Chloé insisted hotly, as another passenger spoke up.

“None of us saw this akuma, I bet the girl’s just looking for attention!”

“Fuck you!” Chloé shot back angrily before taking a deep breath. Getting angry wouldn’t help the situation and it might attract the akuma to her. “I know what I saw. It was an akuma.”

She was saved from having to make any more defenses of herself as a voice crackled over the intercom. “Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your driver, Startrain, speaking! I’m afraid we’ve been rerouted, this train is no longer bound for London. Instead, we’re going on an adventure to space! Buckle up!”

With a sudden lurch, the train suddenly angled upwards as a rush of energy rippled down the train, staining it dark purple as it was empowered by the akuma. With a loud crash, the train burst through the roof of the tunnel and out of the sea and kept going, higher and higher.

“I told you there was an akuma!” Chloé couldn’t help but get in a quick jab before she lost her footing and floated up into the air as they left the atmosphere and continued further out into space.

As they got further and further away from Earth, it occurred to Chloé that Ladybug and Chat Noir might not be able to reach them anymore. It was a grim thought, stuck in space, living only by the whims of an akuma and trapped with the same couple of hundred people for the rest of her life.

Still, at least one of those people was Marinette.

Chloé’s heart plummeted, despite the lack of gravity. Marinette was on the train as well, what if she got hurt or something? Panicking, Chloé did her best to swim through the air and make her way to the carriage with all her classmates in.

“Mari? Mari?” She called out once she got into the car, not caring if other people heard her refer to Marinette so affectionately, but there was no response. The rest of her class were all floating around too. Ivan looked particularly nauseous as he floated past Chloé. She continued to search for Marinette.

“Alix! Where’s Mari?” She asked locating the skater near her and Marinette’s seats, but there was no Marinette to be seen.

“I don’t know. I was distracted by the whole weightlessness thing, and when I looked back, she was gone.” Fear gripped Chloé. Marinette was missing during the middle of an akuma attack. Who knew what had happened to her.

Kicking off, Chloé continued towards the back of the train to continue her search, but was surprised as Ladybug and Chat Noir of all people entered the carriage.

“Ladybug?! How did you get here?” She asked in surprise, halting mid air to stare at the heroes. “Were you already on the train?”

“No, we just used a Miraculous to get here.” Ladybug answered as Chat Noir got the attention of the rest of the passengers.

“We’re handling this! If you could all make your way to the rear of the train.” The other passengers did as instructed. Chloé, however, remained floating in place.

“I hope you remembered my Miraculous so I can help this time.” Ladybug looked incredibly awkward and stuttered out something about not bringing it.

“We didn’t know you’d be here.” Chat Noir slid smoothly into conversation now that he was finished with the passengers.

“Then what about the Miraculous you used to get here? I could use that. I just want to help.” Ladybug looked conflicted, and her expression seemed rather familiar to Chloé, though she couldn’t place it.

“I’m sorry, Chloé. We need to keep it in reserve, just in case things go wrong.” She said finally and Chloé scowled.

“Fine then, throw away the asset of an experienced Miraculous holder. I have something else to do anyway. I need to make sure my best friend is safe.” Without waiting for an answer, Chloé kicked off down the train to resume her search for Marinette.

“Mari? Mari?” She continued to call out, drifting past the other passengers all huddled in the last car of the train. Still no answer, and Chloé was starting to panic. Where could Marinette be? Had something bad happened to her?

A long list of awful scenarios played out in Chloé’s head as she searched frantically. A disturbing number ended with Marinette ejected from the train and freezing to death in the cold depths of space.

No one actually knew whether the Lucky Charm restored people to life. Akumas tended to capture people rather than kill them. What if the worst had happened to Marinette and when the Lucky Charm was used she wasn’t brought back? What if she was in trouble right now and every second the two heroes wasted because they hadn’t let her help brought Marinette a second closer to death?

No, she was just being irrational, Marinette was probably fine. But if that were the case, then where was she? Several minutes passed and Chloé had still found neither hide nor hair of Marinette. There didn’t seem to be any progress on getting them returned to Earth either. What if this really was it? Trapped in space, Marinette missing or dead. And Chloé hadn’t even gotten a chance to let Marinette know how she felt about her.

True she’d been determined to keep it a secret for her Papa’s sake, but if this really was the end, Chloé wanted Marinette to know. Chloé paused in her search as that thought crossed her mind. Did she really want to do that? To tell Marinette that she liked her, maybe even loved her.

Yes, yes she did. Even if Marinette rejected her, like she should, because Chloé wasn’t good enough for her, she didn’t want either of them to die without knowing. Was this how Akiko had felt just before she confessed her love to Mariko? One on the verge of death and the other so unwilling to lose them. It didn’t really matter right now. What did matter was that Chloé couldn’t keep this a secret anymore.

As she was about to resume her search for Marinette, there was a sudden lurch and the train jolted as the purple hue suddenly vanished and Chloé’s ears popped. Ladybug and Chat Noir had beaten the akuma. But in doing so, they eliminated the one thing that was keeping them all alive in the vacuum of space.

This really was the end. Chloé closed her eyes as she heard the train decompress rapidly with a howl. Then she landed on the floor with a painful thump before sliding down a steep incline of the floor to crash into Kim.

The gravity was back, which could only mean one thing. Scrambling across the crush of bodies Chloé looked out of the window. They were back on Earth, and not just anywhere. The train had crashed right into Elizabeth Tower.

Chloé had to stifle a laugh. Maybe they were going to see Big Ben after all. If the train hadn’t destroyed it completely that is.

Just as suddenly as the return to Earth, a swarm of ladybugs engulfed the train and Chlo felét herself lurch again as the train was returned to its normal orientation. As the swarm dissipated, Chloé looked out the window again and was disappointed to see they weren’t in London, but rather back in Gare du Nord.

“Right, everybody off!” Mme Bustier called out, crawling to her feet from under the pile of people. Reluctantly, Chloé did as instructed and followed the other students off the train. She was still worried about Marinette though, she still hadn’t managed to locate her.

“I’m sorry, students, but we won’t be able to go to London today. Naturally, we’ll be contacting the train company, and hopefully we’ll be able to rearrange the trip for another day. If you could please call your parents and get them to pick you up, there will be no school today.” Mme Bustier announced to the collected students.

They all groaned in disappointment but did as they were told, all except Chloé, who was busy still trying to locate Marinette. She was very surprised Mme Bustier hadn’t done a roll call to make sure everyone was present.

Just as it occurred to Chloé that now they were back on Earth she could call Marinette, she saw her off to the side near a flight of stairs. Chloé didn’t care who saw her as she ran over to Marinette, tears of relief flowing down her cheeks.

“Mari! You’re okay!” She cried, pulling her best friend into the tightest hug she could manage. “I was so worried, I couldn’t find you anywhere on the train, I thought something awful might have happened to you.”

“No, I was in the toilet, the whole no gravity thing really upset my stomach.” Marinette told Chloé, blushing a little as she let go and looked at Marinette. Without saying anything else, Chloé quickly pulled Marinette after her under the stairs, where she was sure they were safe from prying eyes.

Steeling herself, Chloé took a deep breath, Alix was right and so was Marinette. It was time to be selfish. “Mari, I have something I need to tell you.”

“What?” Marinette looked up at her curiously and Chloé tried to get the words out, but they just wouldn’t come. “Chlo? Are you okay?” After another couple of attempts, Chloé just gave up.

“Fuck it.” She declared, and leaned down to kiss Marinette firmly. It was their first real kiss, and possibly the best thing Chloé had ever felt, the softness of Marinette’s lips against hers and the faint taste of cherries. The dark-haired girl let out a squeak of surprise before melting into Chloé’s embrace.

It was everything Chloé had wanted and more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, it's been a while since I've updated this. Apologies for the delay, I got caught up in writing other projects, hopefully I can return to some form of regularity with this one soon. In the meantime, this certainly was the chapter to get back into things. They finally kiss, properly! I've been looking forward to this for ages, this has been the plan from the get go that things would finally happen here.
> 
> I've set up a [discord](https://discord.gg/4t3y25e) so feel free to join and stuff, I'm pretty active there these days.
> 
> Big thanks to [machiavellianFictionist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/machiavellianFictionist) for proofreading and being so patient with this. Lots of thanks too to the lovely [Ruby](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RubyAndNanaAO3) for beta reading and being so sweet to me.
> 
> Thank you too to my official supporters, send a PM or hop on the discord server for details.


	23. Chapter 23

It felt like hours before Chloé finally broke the kiss with Marinette, breathing hard as Marinette did the same.

“What was that for?” She panted, looking in hopeful confusion at Chloé. The lack of screaming or physical violence was a good sign. Unfortunately, Chloé knew what to do in those situations, not so much in this one.

“I…” The temporary burst of courage that had spurred Chloé into kissing Marinette was fading fast and she felt her cheeks heat up rapidly. “I…”

“Maybe here’s not the best place to talk about this.” Marinette spoke once it became apparent that embarrassment had overtaken Chloé. “Let’s go to my house, it’s not too far.”

Nodding dumbly, Chloé allowed Marinette to take her by the hand and lead her out from under the stairs and towards the exit. Chloé wasn’t really paying much attention, she was too busy focusing on how her and Marinette’s fingers were intertwined with each other and how perfectly they seemed to fit together.

It only vaguely occurred to her that she’d left her luggage on the train. It would probably be fine though, it’d just get sent back to the hotel, and there wasn’t anything in there that couldn’t be replaced anyway.

Marinette led the way out of the station and back towards the Dupain-Cheng bakery. Neither of them spoke on the way. Even if Chloé knew what to say, she was too distracted by the lingering feeling of Marinette’s lips to properly articulate them.

As the pair entered the bakery, they were both immediately and surprisingly pulled into a tight hug by Marinette’s father, making Chloé stiffen up in shock and fear. “Marinette! We saw on the news, are you alright?”

“I’m fine, Papa. Could you please let Chloé go. She’s not comfortable with surprise hugs.” Marinette choked out, and they were released quickly, the large man backing off hastily and holding up his hands.

“I’m sorry, Chloé, I didn’t know.” He apologised as Chloé shook her head, suddenly very aware that she and Marinette’ fingers were still loosely intertwined.

“I-It’s alright.” She managed to stammer out as she debated whether she should pull away from Marinette.

“We’re still a little shaken after all that. We’re just going up to my room.” Marinette cut in smoothly, saving Chloé from having to speak anymore.

“Of course. I can ask your mother to bring up some of your chamomile tea if you’d like.”

“We’ll be fine, thank you, Papa.” Marinette politely refused her father’s offer, pulling Chloé after her, behind the counter and up the stairs.

“Marinette?” Marinette’s mother was pacing nervously in the living room as Marinette and Chloé crested the top of the stairs. “Chloé?”

“The trip was cancelled, Maman, and we didn’t really feel like going home separately.” The former explained to her mother, still leading Chloé up to her room. Mrs Dupain-Cheng ceased her anxious pacing and looked between the two girls. Chloé’s heart plummeted as the woman’s eyes lingered upon her and Marinette’s entwined fingers and a small smirk crossed her face.

“It’s good you two have each other.” She commented, but before Chloé could properly process Mrs Dupain-Cheng’s words, she was hauled up the ladder and into Marinette’s room, the girl shutting the trapdoor firmly behind them.

Finally, they were alone and in private, but words hadn’t yet returned to Chloé on the subject of her and Marinette’s kiss. Marinette had released her hold on Chloé’s hand and the blonde girl meandered further into the room, not paying attention to Marinette, as she tried to formulate what she was going to say.

As she turned around to say something, however, she was stopped by Marinette grabbing her by the collar and pulling her into a fervent kiss. Marinette’s eyes were closed tightly and Chloé squeaked in shock and surprise, her own eyes widening at the suddenness of it all.

Marinette was a great kisser, the best Chloé had ever experienced. Of course, Marinette was the only person Chloé had kissed like this, so it wasn’t as though she had anyone to compare it to. Still, the tingling sensation it elicited was amazing.

All too soon though, the kiss was broken, and Chloé couldn’t help but whine a little as Marinette withdrew, blushing furiously. “Sorry for springing that on you, but I’ve wanted to do that for a long time.”

“You… What?” Chloé blinked in confusion, head still a little hazy from the euphoric feeling of being kissed by Marinette. The shy girl blushed even harder and she looked away as she mumbled.

“I’ve wanted to kiss you for a few months now, and since you kissed me first back at the station, I assumed you’d be okay with it.”

“I was! I mean, I am.” Chloé hastily reassured Marinette when she thought she heard some guilt and uncertainty in her tone. Then Chloé’s brain properly caught up with Marinette’s words and it felt like she’d been struck by a bolt of lightning. “Did… Did you just say you’ve wanted to kiss me for months?!”

“Well, yeah… I didn’t really know until after you were suspended.” Marinette rambled, face still just as red as Ladybug’s costume. “And I realised that I wasn’t crushing on Adrien anymore and that I’m bi, and then that I actually had a thing for you, and then there was that kiss on Christmas, and I realised I definitely liked you romantically and really wanted to kiss you, but I figured you wouldn’t like it because you don’t like change and were into Adrien.”

Chloé struggled to process this confession and untangle the timeline of events, so she just said the first thing that came to mind. “How dare you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng?”

“What?” Marinette ceased her chatter to look up at Chloé, jaw slack and hurt flashing in her eyes.

“How dare you confess before I do! I’m the one that kissed you first, I should be the one confessing that I like you!” Chloé pouted, folding her arms. She’d had a whole thing planned out… Okay that was a lie, but still, this was supposed to be Chloé’s grand confession combined with her coming out, and Marinette had just stolen her thunder.

Chloé was so wrapped up in her righteous indignation that she nearly missed Marinette’s stifled snort. She did, however, very much notice when Marinette started giggling, her deep blush having faded to a rosy pink as she laughed. 

“Mariiiii, don’t laugh at me!” Chloé huffed, stomping over and seating herself on the chaise, deliberately looking away from Marinette.

“I’m sorry, Chlo, but it really is kind of funny.” Marinette sat down beside Chloé and nudged into her. “Only you would get annoyed about that.” Chloé merely let out a huff of irritation and continued to pout. “Did I mention you’re kind of cute when you’re pouting like that?”

“I am not!” The blonde protested, getting back to her feet and pacing away from Marinette, familiar feelings of stress creeping up on her. “Argh, you’ve thrown me off now. I don’t know how I’m supposed to do this, and now I’m fucking it up even more!”

“Chlo, just slow down a little.” Marinette got back to her feet and pulled Chloé into a tight hug. At first Chloé stiffened, remembering how Mr Dupain-Cheng had just pulled her into a similar hug. Only this time, it was Marinette. She trusted her. Loved her even. The stress of surprise physical contact melted away along with that of her momentary freak out.

“It’s okay, Chlo.” Marinette reassured her, loosening the hold so she could look properly at her. “Just breathe.”

“But I still don’t know how to do this. None of my manga prepared me for this.” Chloé admitted, feeling her face flush with embarrassment.

“Then just say whatever comes to mind.” Marinette prodded gently, guiding Chloé to sit back down, never breaking contact as she did so. Nodding silently, Chloé took a deep breath as Marinette’s advice reminded her of Alix’s earlier advice.

“I like you, Mari, a lot. I only realised it a couple of weeks ago, but I’m pretty sure it’s been a long time coming.”

“So was all that bullying just you pulling my pigtails?” Marinette smirked impishly, though it faded when Chloé shook her head sorrowfully.

“No. I wish I could say it was, but I really was just mean and cruel to you back then because that’s how I was, and I didn’t even try to look to see more than what I wanted to.” Chloé sighed deeply, regret pooling in her stomach and the beginnings of tears starting to pool in her eyes.

“Hey, it’s okay. I forgave you for what happened back then. We were both young and didn’t even try to understand each other.”

“We’re still young, Mari.” Chloé smiled wanly, guilt still gnawing away at her. “After I realised how I felt about you. I was convinced I couldn’t tell you because I didn’t deserve you after everything I did, and that you’d reject me.”

“Well, given that I’ve crushed on you for a while now, I’m pretty sure that you’re being ridiculous with that.” Marinette reached out to boop Chloé’s nose playfully. “In fact, at the risk of inflating your ego, you’re the reason I worked out I’m bi.”

Marinette was right, that did inflate Chloé’s ego quite substantially, and helped push away some of her insecurities about not being good enough to date Marinette. Though after this admission from Marinette, Chloé did feel compelled to tell her own.

“I may have only realised I liked you because of Princess Yuri.” Chloé ducked her head as Marinette let out a little giggle.

“Oh? Did you finally realise Akiko and Mariko are in love?”

“You knew?! But I haven’t lent you the latest volume yet.”

“Wow, spoilers, Chlo.” Marinette tittered, shaking her head. “Anyway, it was kind of hinted at ever since the beginning. Though I’m still not sure how that helped you with your self-discovery.”

“I may have projected onto Akiko quite a bit and saw a lot of Mariko in you.” More giggles from Marinette. “And knowing they liked each other like that put a few things in perspective.”

“Well I’m glad it helped you. I know it can be pretty tough coming to terms with being gay.” Marinette hugged Chloé again, pride filling her voice. They stayed like that for a little while, Chloé enjoying Marinette’s comforting warmth. Eventually, Chloé spoke up. Now that the confession was out of the way, something else needed to be addressed. 

“I do kind of want to know though, what are we, exactly?” She asked, and Marinette shrugged against her.

“Well, we’ve established I like you and you like me back, so I guess we start dating now?” She suggested, burying her face into the crook of Chloé’s neck. It was such a simple solution that Chloé was sorely tempted to say yes and damn the consequences. But she couldn’t.

“I’m sorry, Mari. But I can’t date you.” She felt Marinette stiffen against her. “Publicly, I mean.” The other girl relaxed a little but still pulled her face away from Chloé’s neck to look up at her inquisitively.

“Why not?”

“I mean, neither of us are out yet. You said you were still trying to work up the courage to tell your parents.” Chloé pointed out.

“You’re right, but I have been putting it off for a while now, and I know I’d be brave enough if you were there to support me.”

“And the class?”

“I’m pretty sure other than Lila and Alya, the rest of the class wouldn’t care too much about us being bi.” Marinette ran a comforting palm in circles on Chloé’s back, which helped ground the blonde as she shook her head.

“I don’t think I’m bi, but that’s beside the point. The rest of the class other than Alix still hates me thanks to that bitch Lila.” Chloé grumbled, a frown twisting her face as she thought of the bane of her existence. “And this is all academic anyway, because those aren’t the biggest problem. It’s my father.”

There was a sharp intake of breath from Marinette as the circles paused momentarily. “Oh, I forgot about him and his policies. Do you really think he’d just turn his back on you if you did come out though?”

Chloé just shrugged, unsure of the answer herself. “Maybe? I don’t know where his political views end and his personal ones begin.” Just thinking about it was starting to upset Chloé again, and she could feel more tears beginning to well up. “Even if he is accepting, it would be so damaging to his career. I can’t do that to him.”

It was so unfair. Chloé had taken some solace in the thought that Marinette wouldn’t reciprocate her feelings, so her father would be a non-issue, but now it felt like fate was simply mocking her for even trying, and the tears that had been welling up were now dangerously close to spilling out and ruining her mascara.

“We… We could date in secret?” Marinette suggested hesitantly, shifting uncomfortably on the spot.

“No, Mari, you deserve better than that.” Chloé protested, shaking her head and blinking rapidly in an attempt to prevent herself from ruining her makeup, but Marinette simply set her jaw.

“It’s not a matter of deserving. I want to date you and kiss you and be your girlfriend.” She insisted, her bottom lip thrust out in a pout. “And if that means we have to do it in secret, then I’m willing to do it.”

“You’re being ridiculous.” Chloé made to stand up, since it was nearly impossible to think rationally whilst Marinette was still so close to her, but the dark haired girl latched on and refused to budge. “Mari, I’m serious, do you have any idea how stressful it would be? We’d have to constantly be watching out for people, sneaking around all the time, and we’d only get a few stolen moments together.”

“Do you not want to date me, Chlo?” Marinette asked, her own eyes starting to get watery.

“I do, more than anything.”

“Then why can’t we do this? The Chloé I know would never back down from a challenge, and Queen Bee certainly wouldn’t.” Chloé could almost feel Marinette smirk as her argument hit home, and Chloé scowled.

“That’s a low blow, Mari.” Grumbling, Chloé leaned into Marinette’s hold as the dark-haired girl made smug crooning noises, knowing she’d won the argument.

“Maybe, but I really want this, Chlo, and I’m pretty sure you do too. We’ll make it work somehow.” Chloé wished she shared Marinette’s optimism, but it was rather infectious, and a small smile worked its way onto her face.

“You really think so?”

“I know so.” Marinette smiled earnestly, melting away the last few bits of resistance Chloé had.

“Alright, let’s give it a shot.” Squealing, Marinette tried to fling herself at Chloé only to be held back by a firm hand. “We need to be careful though. People can’t know we’re together, especially not Lila. God knows what she’d do if she found out.”

“Don’t worry, Chlo, we’ll figure something out.” Marinette continued to smile sunnily and started prodding her index fingers together nervously. “Um… Could we maybe kiss again? I really liked that.”

Laughing softly, Chloé obliged and leaned in, only to be met far more forcefully than she had expected. Squeaking in surprise, Chloé fell back on the bed, Marinette falling with her and ending up on top, still kissing her hard.

They remained like that for a long while until Chloé was forced to push Marinette off so she could draw breath. “We are definitely going to have to cut back on the kissing, or I may get addicted.” She puffed out in between breaths as Marinette giggled impishly.

“Maybe, but since we’re keeping this a secret, I want to get all my kissing done now, and I’ve got several months worth saved up.” Before Chloé could protest, Marinette swept down again, and Chloé decided to just go with it. There were other things they needed to discuss, but that could wait. This was far more enjoyable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hooray for these useless gays finally getting their act together somewhat. Rather interesting that Marinette's the one pushing for a relationship, quite insistently too. Then again, she has been aware of her feelings and pining for longer. Of course we all know where this is going now, secret relationship shenanigans and how they're going to keep it a secret! Fun times await.
> 
> I've set up a [discord](https://discord.gg/4t3y25e) so feel free to join and stuff, I'm pretty active there these days.
> 
> Big thanks to [machiavellianFictionist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/machiavellianFictionist) for proofreading and being so good to me. Lots of thanks too to my lovely girlfriend [Ruby](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RubyAndNanaAO3) for beta reading and being super adorable.
> 
> Thank you too to my official supporters, send a PM or hop on the discord server for details.


	24. Chapter 24

“Mari! What are you doing?” Chloé squawked as Marinette hauled her down the corridor and into the toilets.

“Shhhh.” Marinette hushed the blonde as she checked the room was empty, before pulling Chloé into the stall farthest from the door and locking it behind them.

“Okay, seriously, Mari. What is-?” Chloé’s question was cut off by Marinette slamming her lips into Chloé’s in a passionate kiss. Chloé felt herself go limp, her eyes slid shut and she moaned quietly into the kiss.

It had been less than twenty four hours since she and Marinette had started dating and already she was being dragged into secluded rooms for trysts. If this was an indicator for how her and Marinette’s relationship was going to be, however, Chloé had no complaints.

With a gentle shove, Marinette pressed Chloé’s back up against the stall door and her tongue flicked out, seeking entrance to Chloé’s mouth, which she gladly granted. The more rational part of Chloé’s mind knew that this was a bad idea, that they could very easily get caught. But the feeling of Marinette’s hand resting on her waist was more than enough to distract her from those thoughts, and they were completely banished by the tentative exploration of her mouth by Marinette’s tongue.

Chloé nearly missed the sound of the door to the bathroom opening, so lost was she in Marinette, but the faint sound of footsteps entering the room definitely caught her attention, and she hastily shoved Marinette away from her.

“Shit!” She hissed under her breath, looking around frantically. Whose dumb idea was it to leave such a large gap between the floor and the stall door? Anyone who got too close would clearly be able to see two pairs of feet, and they’d be busted.

Panicking, Chloé did the first thing that came to mind. She squeezed past Marinette and hopped onto the closed toilet seat, beckoning Marinette over frantically. Thankfully, Marinette was quick on the uptake and she hopped up too, the pair balancing precariously and listening with bated breath as the footsteps approached.

They both breathed a sigh of relief as they heard another stall door close. As quietly as she could, Chloé dropped down to the floor and hurried over to unlock the door. Chloé had had plenty of practice sneaking around thanks to her need to conceal her manga hobby, but she was surprised at how stealthy Marinette was as the pigtailed girl followed behind her, and the two darted out of the bathroom.

“That was way too close.” Chloé groaned once the pair had put a good amount of distance between themselves and the scene of the crime. The pair made their way down the stairs and slipped behind them to obscure themselves from casual observation. “Why did you do that?”

“I hadn’t kissed since yesterday and I wanted to.” Marinette shrugged unapologetically with a small grin.

“We were nearly caught! I told you we need to be careful.” Chloé pouted trying her best to be stern, but utterly failing.

“But we weren’t.” Marinette simpered up at Chloé, her tongue darting out to taste her lips. “Are you using a different lipstick today?”

“It’s supposed to taste like strawberry.” Chloé answered automatically, though she didn’t admit that she’d specially bought it not for the colour but because she wanted Marinette to have a similar experience to the one she got from Marinette’s cherry lip balm. “And don’t change the subject.”

“Like I said, we weren’t caught, so it’s fine.”

“You’re being awfully cavalier about this for someone who isn’t even out to her normally very accepting parents.” Chloé winced the moment she finished the sentence. It was a low blow, and one she immediately regretted. “I’m sorry, that was mean.”

“Well… You’re not wrong.” A frown twisted its way across Marinette’s face. “I want to tell them, I really do.”

“But…?”

“I’m scared. I know I shouldn’t be, I’m sure my parents will always love me. But I just can’t shake the fear that they might not react well, that one of us might lose our temper and get akumatized.” Marinette explained quietly, shuffling uncomfortably on the spot, a far cry from the confident girl who’d dragged Chloé into a bathroom for a makeout session.

Looking around, to make sure no one was paying attention to them, Chloé reached out and took Marinette’s hand, fingers intertwining instinctively. “I’m sorry, Mari.”

“It’s okay, Chlo.” Marinette smiled wanly and ran her thumb over the back of Chloé’s hand. “I’ll think of some way of breaking the news to them.” A thought occurred to Chloé, one she wouldn’t normally have voiced before, but she was feeling unusually brave and bolstered by Marinette’s presence.

“I could help, if you wanted. Give you support.” She offered tentatively, and Marinette blinked in surprise.

“No, you don’t have to do that for me, Chlo.” Marinette shook her head firmly.

“If you’re sure…” Chloé did breathe a small sigh of relief. Much as she wanted to support her girlfriend, she wasn’t entirely sure she was ready for more people to know about her sexuality. Even if she didn’t end up coming as Marinette’s girlfriend to Mr and Mrs Dupain-Cheng, she was fairly certain the two adults were smart enough to work out that something was going on between them.

“What’s going on here then? Something salacious, I hope.” Chloé and Marinette sprang apart and whirled to face an impishly grinning Alix.

“Nothing’s happening!” Chloé protested hotly, glowering at Alix whose grin only grew wider.

“Oh, really? Just like how ‘nothing’ happened beneath the stairs at the train station yesterday?” Chloé felt her heart plummet and saw her shock and fear mirrored on Marinette’s face.

“Y-You saw that?” Marinette stammered out, face bright red as she looked to Chloé nervously.

“Yep!” Alix popped the ‘p’ obnoxiously, seemingly oblivious to Marinette and Chloé’s fearful expressions. “Good thing too, otherwise I wouldn’t have known to ‘borrow’ Lila’s bag and lead her on a merry chase to the other end of the station.”

Chloé had been about to beg Alix to keep their secret, but her pleas died on her tongue as she stared at Alix. “You did what?”

“Lila was wandering around near where you two were having your little heart to heart, so I grabbed her bag and distracted her. You’re welcome, by the way.”

“But, why?” Marinette asked, staring stunned at the still smirking skater.

“Because you’re my friends? Well, more Chloé than you, no offence.” Alix leaned back against a nearby wall, her smile switching to a slightly more serious expression. “Lila’s a bitch, she wouldn’t think twice about outing the two of you just for social currency, or even just shits and giggles. Even if you weren’t my friends, that’s still a fucking awful thing to happen.”

“Thanks, Alix.” Marinette breathed a sigh of relief, sagging as she did so. Chloé didn’t feel quite so comforted just yet.

“Do you know if anybody else saw us other than you?” She asked nervously, a major freakout may have been averted, but that could easily change.

“I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure Lila’s screeching made for a pretty good distraction.” Alix shrugged. “I’m pretty sure someone would’ve said something about it by now though, if they had.”

“Unless they’re just waiting before they destroy us.” Chloé mumbled, her deep frown only alleviated by Marinette reaching out to hold her hand.

“I don’t think anyone would do that, except Lila.” Marinette reassured her girlfriend, softly squeezing her hand. “We’re okay, Chlo.”

“If you say so…” Chloé squeezed back, smiling down at Marinette, but was interrupted by a cough that sounded suspiciously like the word ‘gay’. Wrinkling her nose, Chloé glared at Alix, who merely whistled innocently.

“So… are you two dating now, or what?” She asked, smirking a little as the blushes returned to Chloé and Marinette’s faces. The pair exchanged a look and tried to have a silent conversation about whether they should tell Alix. At least, that’s what Chloé tried to do, she wasn’t entirely sure what Marinette’s expressions meant.

“We are.” Chloé answered finally, giving up on trying to interpret her girlfriend’s strange facial contortions. “But we’re keeping it secret for now, obviously.”

“You dad?” Chloé nodded silently in answer to Alix’s question.

“Amongst other things.” Marinette added, glancing around again to make sure nobody was paying attention to them. “So please, don’t tell anyone, even if you’re sure they’d be cool with it.”

“I’m almost offended you’d think I’d out you like that.” Alix pouted, crossing her arms huffily. “Your secret’s safe with me, so don’t go worrying about it.”

“Right, yeah.” Marinette grinned rather awkwardly as she pulled out her phone as a distraction. “We should probably get going and grab some lunch before we run out of time, Chlo.”

“You crazy kids go have fun.” Alix snickered, picking up her bag and walking out into the main part of the courtyard.

“You know we’re both older than you.” Chloé pointed out as she followed the skater out from under the stairs.

“And yet I’m so much more mature.” Chloé didn’t deign to respond to the jab, rolling her eyes instead as she looked back to Marinette.

“Shall we? Maybe today’s the day the food will actually be palatable.” Marinette snorted, shaking her head before walking out from under the cover of the stairs.

“Somehow I doubt it. You still going to come round after school to help me with the physics assignment?”

“Of course I am.” Looking around quickly, Chloé pulled close to Marinette’s side. “Though if you keep doing stuff like you just did in the toilets, I don’t think we’ll get much work done.”

“I can restrain myself.” Marinette huffed good-naturedly, elbowing Chloé gently. “We’ll be fine.”

* * *

“Mari, please, we’ve barely done any work.” Chloé protested breathlessly as Marinette pulled back to draw breath as well. They’d had the best of intentions starting out, both sitting at Marinette’s desk and going through the worksheet, with Marinette occasionally asking Chloé for guidance. That had lasted for all of ten minutes, until Marinette had proposed a reward system that every time she answered a question correctly, she got to kiss Chloé, and of course, the blonde was unable to refuse.

What had followed was a marathon makeout session that had somehow migrated from the desk to the chaise, where Chloé once again found herself pinned beneath a very eager Marinette. Chloé wasn’t used to being the follower in any of her relationships, platonic or otherwise. She liked being in control of things, it meant things were organised.

But with Marinette, it felt so easy to let her lead, and Chloé trusted the pigtailed girl implicitly. Of course, this did mean she was subject to Marinette’s more amorous whims, not that she was complaining too much.

“It was supposed to be one kiss per correct question.” Chloé reiterated, and Marinette sat back on Chloé’s lap, pouting adorably. 

“I can’t help it, you’re far too kissable.” Marinette chirped, with a far too self-satisfied smirk on her face.

“Why am I being the sensible one here?” Chloé grumbled, trying half-heartedly to wriggle her way out from underneath Marinette. “I thought I was supposed to be the irrational and impulsive one.”

“You were never irrational or impulsive.” Marinette giggled, not budging an inch. “I just didn’t understand how your thought process worked.”

Chloé was about to snipe back when there was a knock at the trapdoor. With a squeak of fear, Chloé sat up, this time sending Marinette toppling to the floor. In her clumsy flailing, however, Marinette managed to get caught and tangled on Chloé’s cardigan, and pulled the blonde to the floor with her.

It was in this compromising position, with Chloé sprawled on top of Marinette with her hands in some unfortunate positions as she struggled to free herself that Mrs Dupain-Cheng walked in on.

“Um, Chloé, is there a reason you appear to be groping my daughter?” She asked calmly and Chloé froze in her struggles.

“Nothing happened, Maman!” Marinette rushed out, continuing to try to free herself even though Chloé had ceased in her own attempts. “I tripped and fell and accidentally pulled Chloé down with me. You know how clumsy I can be.”

“I see…” Chloé wasn’t great at interpreting tones of voice, but she was pretty certain that was scepticism in Marintte’s mother’s voice.

“Really, Mrs Dupain-Cheng, nothing untoward happening here.” Chloé added to their protests as Marinette finally managed to untangle herself and rolled Chloé off of her.

“If you two insist.” Mrs Dupain-Cheng sighed, and Chloé felt oddly ashamed as she got to her feet and brushed herself off. “I wanted to ask if Chloé was staying for dinner tonight.”

“Oh, I don’t want to impose.” Chloé said quickly, The embarrassment at nearly being caught increasing tenfold at the thought of staying over for dinner.

“You wouldn’t be imposing, dear, you know I always make too much.” Mrs Dupain-Cheng smiled reassuringly at the nervous girl. “We’d love to have one of Marinette’s  _ close _ friends for dinner. After what happened with Alya, I’m sure Marinette would love for you to stay.”

“Maman, I thought I asked you not to bring that up.” Marinette grumbled, refusing to look at her mother and instead busying herself with some of the papers that were knocked askew from the desk when they’d first started kissing.

“I’m sorry, dear, but I’m sure I’m right in thinking you’d appreciate it if Chloé stayed for dinner.” Mrs Dupain-Cheng looked expectantly at Marinette, who simply shrugged.

“I mean, I would, but it’s up to Chloé.” Glancing over at Chloé, Marinette continued to aimlessly shuffle the papers, and Chloé had no idea what her girlfriend wanted her to do.

“I guess I could stay…” She answered hesitantly, watching Marinette closely and breathed a quiet sigh of relief when Marinette smiled brightly. “Papa’s going to be busy this evening, so I was going to eat alone anyway.”

“Oh, then of course you must stay.” Mrs Dupain-Cheng nodded approvingly. “I’ll just let Tom know.” Starting down the stairs, Mrs Dupain-Cheng closed the trapdoor behind her, leaving the two teens alone again.

“You did want me to stay for dinner, right?” Chloé asked immediately, still a little worried she might have misinterpreted Marinette’s expressions.

“Of course I do.” A small frown crossed Marinette’s face. “It’s for pretty selfish reasons though. I’m sorry.”

“How are you being selfish?”

“I… I think Maman has worked us out.” Marinette rushed out and a chill ran down Chloé’s spine. “I figured if you’re there then she’ll be polite and won’t interrogate me.”

“You think she knows we’re dating?!” Chloé squeaked fearfully, her mind already running through various worst case scenarios, before Marinette was suddenly by her side and hugging her.

“I think she thinks there’s something going on between us.” Marinette mumbled, rubbing Chloé’s shoulder comfortingly. “I’m pretty sure she doesn’t actually know anything though.”

“That’s not much of a reassurance.”

“I know, Chlo. We’re not very good at the whole ‘secret relationship’ thing, are we?” Chloé snorted in disbelief, pulling back to give Marinette a sceptical look.

“What do you mean ‘we’? If I recall correctly, you’re the one who keeps initiating all these makeout sessions.”

“You kissed me first back at the station.” Marinette protested, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “And you’re the one letting me kiss you.”

“Only because you’re such a good kisser.” Chloé shoved Marinette playfully, breaking the hug and cocking a hip. “How did you get so good anyway? Have you been practising kissing people behind my back?”

“Never!” Marinette clapped a hand over her heart and gave Chloé her best wounded look. “I’ll have you know I only kissed one other person before you.”

“Oh, now I’m interested. Who was it? Please don’t say it was Adrien, because whoever it was, I shall have to challenge for your honour.” Chloé pleaded. It would be just her luck if it was.

“You wouldn’t believe me.” Marinette looked genuinely abashed now, which only made Chloé more intrigued.

“Try me.” A thought then occurred to her. “Oh my God, it wasn’t Ladybug, was it?”

“No! Of course it wasn’t, I don’t want to kiss Ladybug!” Chloé gave Marinette a look as if she’d just suggested that Lila was actually a very pleasant individual.

“I don’t know why not, she’s very pretty and charming.” She’d be even more so if she’d just let Chloé have her Miraculous back and join in the fight, but Chloé kept that part to herself. For some reason, Marinette blushed at this and looked away briefly.

“I didn’t kiss Ladybug.” She reiterated, her blush deepening. “It was Chat Noir.” Chloé felt her jaw drop.

“That mangy alley cat?! You kissed him?!” Chloé squawked in outrage, already plotting her vengeance upon him for daring to kiss her Mari.

“It was an accident! Kind of. We needed a distraction.” Marinette explained hurriedly with a small scowl. “And I’m sure you’ll be glad to know he wasn’t very good.” The pigtailed girl sighed deeply. “That was my first kiss too.”

“Well, that definitely settles it. I will have to hunt him down to avenge your honour.” Chloé declared, before breaking down in a fit of giggles. Much as she disliked the mangy alley cat, she wouldn’t go that far, especially since it would involve outing herself. “You know, you were my first kiss.”

“I was?” Marinette sounded rather shocked. “I would’ve thought you and Adrien...”

“Of course not. I was planning on saving myself until we were official, and I wasn’t really comfortable with the idea of kissing him.” Chloé explained, remembering the mild feelings of discomfort whenever she even thought about kissing Adrien on the lips. “In hindsight, that makes a lot of sense now.”

“Still, I can’t believe I was your first kiss.” Marinette continued to blush furiously.

“Mhmm, on Christmas. I kept thinking about it for weeks afterwards.” Chloé admitted, and Marinette smiled smugly. “I think we’ve gotten way off course though. We should be doing our homework.”

“Do we have to?”

“Yes, we do. It’s due on Friday.” Chloé pointed out, and Marinette folded her arms in a pout, making Chloé sigh in exasperation. “I never thought I’d see the day when  _ I  _ was the one who was trying to get us to do homework.”

“Maybe if I had the right motivation...” Marinette smirked hopefully and Chloé groaned quietly.

“Fine, we can continue to use the reward system.” She acquiesced, and was promptly pulled into a tight hug. “Not now! You need to earn the reward first! That’s how rewards work!”

Grumbling, Chloé extracted herself from Marinette’s hug, steered the pigtailed girl back over to her desk and sat her down. Grabbing her own chair, Chloé sat down beside Marinette and pulled the worksheets towards her. They had plenty of time before dinner to finish these, provided they didn’t end up on the chaise again. Then again, knowing Mari, that was fairly likely, but Chloé probably wouldn’t complain if it were to happen. Marinette was far too good a kisser for that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cute gay shenanigans! It was almost a given that someone would have noticed them and they are very lucky that they've got Alix on their side. Marinette's probably right about her mother knowing about her and Chloé, though, so that conversation may end up happening sooner than they probably would have liked.
> 
> I've set up a [discord](https://discord.gg/4t3y25e) so feel free to join and stuff, I'm pretty active there these days.
> 
> Big thanks to [machiavellianFictionist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/machiavellianFictionist) for proofreading and being super duper helpful. Lots of thanks too to my lovely girlfriend [Ruby](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RubyAndNanaAO3) for beta reading and being hella cute and adorable.
> 
> Thank you too to my official supporters, send a PM or hop on the discord server for details.


	25. Chapter 25

“Are you sure you don’t want any more, Chloé?” Mrs Dupain-Cheng asked for the third time, offering the plate of noodles to the blonde.

“No, thank you. I’m fine.” Chloé answered again, gently trying to push the plate away. “I’ve already eaten far too much.”

“Are you sure, dear?”

“Maman, leave Chlo alone.” Marinette whined in embarrassment, tugging at her mother’s sleeve. “If she says she’s had enough, then she’s had enough.”

“Okay, sweetie.” Mrs Dupain-Cheng reluctantly set the plate down as Chloé flashed Marinette a grateful smile. After Marinette had informed Chloé of her suspicions about her mother, Chloé had been braced for the dinner to just be a façade for an interrogation. Surprisingly, however, things had progressed like they had the few other times she’d stayed for dinner.

“So, how did your homework session go?” Mr Dupain-Cheng asked. He rarely engaged in conversation with Chloé, but when he did, it was usually something about school.

“It went very well. Chlo thinks I’ve improved a lot since she started tutoring me.”

“I’m sure you both had a fun time.” Mrs Dupain-Cheng said archly with a hint of a smirk. All of Chloé’s practice learning to interpret Marinette’s expressions were paying off, and she was fairly certain Marinette’s mother knew more than she was letting on.

What confused Chloé was why she wasn’t saying anything about it, and instead seemed to be content to refer to it in the most oblique terms possible. If Mrs Dupain-Cheng knew about her and Marinette, why wasn’t she saying anything and putting them out of their misery?

Honestly, it was starting to get rather stressful. Chloé shot Marinette a look, which she hoped she would understand as a cry for help.

“Are you okay, Chlo? You look uncomfortable, did you eat too much?” Chloé sighed quietly and shook her head. They really needed to work on their non-verbal communication skills.

“No, I’m fine.” Chloé wracked her brains for an excuse to get Marinette away from her parents to talk to her. She hit upon her answer when Mrs Dupain-Cheng moved to get up to start clearing away the plates. “Don’t get up, I can do that.” Chloé pretty much jumped to her feet and dashed around the table to pick up Mrs Dupain-Cheng’s plates.

“Oh no, dear, you’re a guest.” She protested as Chloé did her best to collect the silverware.

“You cooked, it’s the least I can do.” Chloé responded quickly, continuing to gather up the dinner things. “Mari, could you lend me a hand?” She gave her girlfriend a very pointed look, which Marinette thankfully picked up on this time.

“Of course!” Marinette got up as well and collected the remaining plates and joined Chloé in carrying them over to the kitchen and the sink. “What’s up, Chlo?” She whispered as they stacked the dishes in the sink.

“Why isn’t your mother saying anything about us?” Chloé hissed back, glancing anxiously over her shoulder at the two parents who were also engaged in quiet conversation. “I’m sure she knows about us, so why isn’t she saying anything?”

“I don’t know.” Marinette whined, glancing back at her parents too. “She’s normally pretty pushy about stuff, so I don’t know why she wouldn’t say anything.”

“Well, it’s stressing me out.” Finishing stacking the dishes, Chloé looked imploringly at Marinette. “I don’t know what’s going to happen and I don’t like it at all.”

“I don’t either, Chlo, but what can we do about it? We’re trying to keep this a secret.”

“I know, I know.” Chloé mumbled with a frown and Marinette reached out to pat her reassuringly on the shoulder, but withdrew her hand quickly when she noticed her mother watching them.

“We’ll work something out.” Marinette told her girlfriend before returning to the dinner table. “Is there any dessert, Maman?”

“There’s fruit and leftover pastries.” Marinette pouted at the offer.

“No ice cream?”

“Marinette, ice cream is for special occasions or to be bought with your allowance.” Marinette’s mother chided gently, but that didn’t dissuade Marinette.

“But it is a special occasion, Chloé is here.” She wheedled, but to no avail.

“Chloé has come round lots of times, I don’t think it really counts as a special occasion anymore.” Chloé shifted a little uncomfortably behind Marinette, not too happy with being used as a pawn in their argument.

“But Maman…”

“Unless you’ve got a good reason for today being a special occasion, no ice cream.” Mrs Dupain-Cheng gave her daughter an odd look.

“I…” Marinette hesitated and shot a look back at Chloé before hanging her head. “No, Maman.”

“Alright, then.” Mrs Dupain-Cheng sounded surprisingly disappointed, but her kind smile returned quickly. “Would you like some fruit?”

“No thanks, Maman.” Marinette mumbled and headed for the stairs up to her room. “I’m not actually that hungry.” Chloé watched her girlfriend ascend the stairs to her room, unsure of what she should do.

“Go after her, dear, I know you want to.” Mrs Dupain-Cheng told her, getting up from the table and walking into the kitchen. “We can handle the washing up.”

“Are you sure?” Chloé asked anxiously, fighting the urge to not look a gift horse in the mouth and immediately go after Marinette.

“Yes, dear, I think she needs a friend right now.” Deciding not to argue any further, Chloé nodded her thanks and jogged after Marinette, ignoring Mr Dupain-Cheng’s curious look.

Climbing up the stairs and opening up the trapdoor, Chloé couldn’t see her girlfriend, so she climbed up into the room fully and called out to her. “Mari?” There was a small shuffling from the bed and Marinette’s head poked over the edge to look down at her.

“Oh, hey, Chlo.” Walking over, Chloé climbed up the ladder and perched on the bed to look at her girlfriend properly.

“Mari, what are you doing up here? I don’t understand what happened downstairs.” Marinette continued to frown as she pulled one of her pillows into a tight hug.

“I don’t know, I just wanted ice cream. I don’t know what Maman was doing.” Sniffing, Marinette flopped back to stare up at the ceiling.

“Do… Do you think we should just tell her we’re dating?” Chloé suggested reluctantly, crawling over to sit beside Marinette’s head and reaching out to stroke her hair. “Maybe that’s why she’s being weird.”

“Maybe? I want to tell her, but I’m scared and we’re supposed to be trying to keep it a secret. But Alix already found out about us and it’s only been a day.” Grumbling, Marinette shuffled over to rest her head on Chloé’s lap and closed her eyes.

“So should we just leave it be or not?” Chloé was of two minds about this. On the one hand, she’d been the one to advocate for keeping their relationship a secret, and she was still very unsure about the full ramifications of yet another person knowing about their relationship. On the other hand, she really hated this ambiguity Marinette’s mother was forcing them into.

“I don’t know…” Marinette mumbled, twisting around to try to get more comfortable. “What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know either.” Chloé muttered distractedly as she continued to stroke Marinette’s hair.

“Surely you must have some idea.” Marinette sat up to look at her girlfriend properly. “You’re Chloé Bourgeois, you always know what you want.”

“Well, I don’t this time.” Chloé shrugged uncomfortably as she refused to meet Marinette’s eyes. “Besides, it’s your mother, so it should be up to you.”

“It’s not just me in this relationship, Chlo, you should get a say as well.” Marinette argued, frowning at Chloé, who shuffled unhappily, not liking how things were going at all.

“I…” She paused as she tried to think exactly what she wanted. “I’m sorry, but I really don’t know, Mari.” Chloé leaned back against the wall, letting her head smack against it with an audible thud. “Can’t you decide, please?”

“I don’t want to force you into doing something you don’t want to do though.” Marinette crawled over to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“You won’t, I trust you.” Chloé felt Marinette tense against her for a brief moment before relaxing again and nodding.

“Alright, I want to tell them. I don’t want to hide anymore.” Chloé could almost feel Marinette’s concerned frown against her neck. “But I still don’t know whether they’ll accept me or not.”

“Just as a logical side point.” Chloé said quietly. “If your mother does indeed suspect we are dating, if she disapproved, wouldn’t she have brought it up by now?”

“I guess…” Marinette still sounded doubtful so Chloé added another point.

“And your parents are actually good, unlike mine. They’ve always been supportive of you, haven’t they?” After a small pause, Marinette nodded against Chloé’s neck.

“Okay, I’ll tell them. Are you sure you’re okay with them knowing we’re dating?”

“I think so, so long as you’re okay with it.” Humming distractedly, Marinette pulled away from Chloé to look her in the eye, reaching out and taking her hands in her own.

“Will you come with me? For moral support.” Chloé nodded and Marinette squeezed her hands in thanks before crawling over to the ladder and climbing down, waiting for Chloé to follow her. The blonde followed Marinette down and let her lead the way down through the trapdoor and back into the living area.

Marinette’s parents were busy with the washing up. Marinette’s father was drying up the dishes and putting them away whilst her mother washed them.

“Um, Maman, Papa? I, um, I have something I wanted to tell you.” Marinette reached out for Chloé’s hand and squeezed it tightly as her parents paused in their cleaning to look at the pair.

“What, sweetie?” Marinette’s mother smiled encouragingly at her daughter, setting the sponge down and turning to look at them properly.

“I… I’m bisexual.” Marinette rushed out, tensing up and flinching away from her parents. No reprimands or shouting came, however. Mrs Dupain-Cheng continued to smile at Marinette, though her father looked rather confused.

“But I thought you’d been crushing on that nice Adrien boy for years?” He scratched his head perplexed.

“I was. I’m bi, not gay, Papa.” Marinette explained patiently.

“But-.”

“Tom.” Mrs Dupain-Cheng laid a hand on her husband’s shoulder and shot him a look. “We’re both very proud of you, Marinette, for being brave enough to tell us this.”

“I did have some help with that.” Squeezing Chloé’s hand again, Marinette looked up at her parents with renewed confidence. “I…  _ We  _ wanted to tell you that, we’re um, dating. Chloé and I.”

Chloé wasn’t sure if Mr Dupain-Cheng’s brow could furrow any more, but he somehow managed to prove her wrong. “But, didn’t you two used to hate each other?”

“Emphasis on the ‘used to’ part, Papa.” Marinette rolled her eyes fondly. “We’ve been friends for a while now, and we recently realised there was something more there.” Chloé smiled slightly as Marinette pulled into her side. “Well, one of us realised recently.”

“Excuse you, I’ve known I liked you for weeks.” Chloé protested with a huff.

“You had to read a manga to realise you liked me like that!” Marinette fired back with a cheeky grin, her initial apprehension about telling her parents seemed to have completely abated if she was now perfectly happy to tease Chloé.

“I have a homophobic father, so I never thought about it before!” Chloé protested, before she remembered they weren’t alone in the room and clapped a hand over her mouth. Slowly, she looked over at Marinette’s parents, both of whom now looked rather concerned.

“I take it then you’d rather people not find out about you two dating then?” Mrs Dupain-Cheng asked and Chloé nodded, hand still held over her mouth.

“It’s not just her dad, Maman.” Marinette added, releasing Chloé’s hand to wrap it around her girlfriend’s shoulders. “Chloé’s not exactly popular at school right now, and I don’t want anything to happen to her if she got outed.”

“Of course, sweetie, we won’t tell anyone if you don’t want us to.” Mrs Dupain-Cheng reassured them. “And we’re both happy for the two of you. You’re very cute together.” There was something weird about Mrs Dupain-Cheng’s tone of voice, but Chloé had no idea what it meant. Marinette seemed to, though, as she narrowed her eyes at her mother.

“Maman, did you already know I like girls and about me and Chloé?” Mrs Dupain-Cheng’s cheeks pinked just a little.

“Well, I did have something of a suspicion…” She admitted after a little while, and Marinette’s eyes narrowed even further. “I may have had a feeling you like girls for quite a while.”

“What? But how?!” Marinette’s jaw dropped and she stared at her mother. “Papa wasn’t wrong about me crushing on Adrien for literal ages.”

“True, you did, but you and Alya were also very close.” Marinette winced at the mention of her former best friend, and Chloé quickly reached out to rub her arm gently.

“Can you not mention Alya please?” Marinette asked, a deep frown crossing her face. “Especially not in relation to my sexuality.”

Mrs Dupain-Cheng raised an eyebrow at this, but there was no explanation forthcoming from Marinette, so Chloé stepped up. “Césaire stopped being friends with Mari after she came out to her.” Mrs Dupain-Cheng’s curious expression morphed into a dark scowl.

“Oh?”

“It’s fine, Maman.” Marinette insisted quickly. “Things were already strained between us because she doesn’t like Chloé. And it’s not like she’s outed me or anything.”

“I should hope not!” Mrs Dupain-Cheng seethed, the woman seemed quite likely to storm out of the house and hunt down Césaire for her crimes. Mr Dupain-Cheng seemed to notice his wife’s simmering rage and reached out to gently restrain her.

“Calm down, darling.” He told her soothingly. “Deep breaths.” Mrs Dupain-Cheng nodded reluctantly and took a few calming breaths.

“Surely that can’t have been the only reason.” Marinette piped up, trying to steer the conversation away from her ex-friend. “Just because I was close with one girl doesn’t make me bisexual.”

“Well, you did come home one day after maternelle and told me you’d seen the cutest girl with blonde hair and blue eyes and you were going to marry her one day.” Chloé let out a small squeak at the description and felt her face flush whilst Marinette squawked in embarrassment.

“What?! No!” She protested hotly as she blushed deeply as well, it even reached her ears. “I never said that!”

“Yes you did, sweetie.” Mrs Dupain-Cheng smirked as Marinette buried her face in her hands and whined.

“Can we not, please?” She pleaded as Chloé snuggled closer into her side, not caring about the audience by this point.

“Alright, alright.” Mrs Dupain-Cheng chuckled. Shaking her head, she dried off her hands on a towel, walked over to the couple and pulled them into a tight hug. Chloé froze up at this unexpected physical contact, but couldn’t reject it without being rude. “We’re glad you two are happy together, aren’t we, Tom?”

“Very happy.” Marinette’s father confirmed. “I think you should let go of Chloé though, she doesn’t like to be touched without permission.”

“Oh! I’m sorry.” Mrs Dupain-Cheng released the two girls and stepped back anxiously. “Are you okay, dear?”

“I’m fine.” Chloé half-lied, pulling as close as she could to Marinette. “I don’t mind, just, can you ask first next time, please?”

“Of course, dear. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” Mrs Dupain-Cheng apologised again.

“Can we go back to my room now, Maman?” Marinette asked, as if sensing Chloé’s residual discomfort.

“Yes, sweetie, but I don’t want any funny business going on up there.”

“Maman! We’re only fourteen!” Marinette shrieked, face bright red now as she grabbed Chloé by the hand and pulled her back to the stairs up to her room. Taking them two at a time, Marinette burst up into her room and all but slammed the trapdoor in her embarrassment before throwing herself onto the chaise and burying her face in one of the cushions.

Slowly, Chloé approached her girlfriend and perched by her feet. “Are you okay?” She asked tentatively.

“I’m fine.” Marinette’s voice was muffled by the cushion but still intelligible. “I’m sorry Maman was so embarrassing, I have no idea what she was thinking.”

“Thinking about what?” Chloé cocked her head curiously and Marinette raised her head to look up at her.

“Telling us not to get into any funny business.”

“Oh, why did she say that?” Chloé hadn’t really had time to process what Mrs Dupain-Cheng had told them as Marinette had hauled her away so quickly. “Are we not allowed to tell jokes or something?”

“What?” Marinette’s forehead wrinkled as she gave Chloé a rather perplexed look.

“She said no funny business, so is laughing not allowed? Were we too loud? Is that it?” There was a brief silence, then Marinette snorted with laughter, making Chloé blush again.

“Chlo, that’s not what she meant by that.” Marinette giggled, rocking back on the chaise in amusement.

“Oh.” A small jolt of embarrassment and shame needled at the back of her mind. This was probably one of those expressions she didn’t always understand. She thought she’d gotten quite good at them, but clearly there were still a few she didn’t know. “What did she mean by that, then?”

Marinette’s blush, which had gone down a little as she giggled at Chloé’s misunderstanding, returned in full force, and she stammered for a few seconds before managing to get out a coherent answer. “She was telling us not to do anything, um, sexual, like touching each other or stuff like that.”

“O-oh.” Chloé felt herself blush deeply as well at the implications of what Marinette had just said. “B-but we’re only fourteen, and we’re not even anywhere near that point! All we’ve done is kiss and hold hands!”

“I knoooooooow.” Marinette whined, grabbing a cushion and hugging it to her chest. “She can be so embarrassing sometimes!”

“At least she and your dad were supportive?” Chloé offered, her face still pink and burning from the suggestion.

“I guess it could have gone a lot worse.” Looking up at her girlfriend, Marinette mustered a small smile. “Are you okay with how it went, Chlo?”

“I think so, yes.” Chloé shrugged. “Like you said, it could have gone a lot worse.”

“Mmmm.” Marinette hummed in agreement before setting the cushion aside and crawling over to her girlfriend, bringing her face right up to Chloé’s. “You know, you’re really cute when you blush.”

“Ma-!” Chloé’s squeak of protest was cut off by Marinette closing the rest of the distance between them and pressing an insistent kiss to her lips. With a soft whine, Chloé relaxed into the kiss, but all too soon it was broken off.

“Why’d you stop?” She pouted petulantly and Marinette giggled once again.

“We’re not supposed to be doing any funny business.” Chloé simply rolled her eyes and leaned in to kiss her girlfriend again.

All in all, their first day as girlfriends had gone pretty well, even if they hadn’t been so good at the whole secret relationship thing, and Chloé couldn’t wait to find out what would happen next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah gay shenanigans, honestly these two really need to be more careful or all of Paris will know about them by the end of the week. We've got a bit more fluff before teh plot picks back up and I think these two deserve a little break from things going horribly wrong.
> 
> I've set up a [discord](https://discord.gg/4t3y25e) so feel free to join and stuff, I'm pretty active there these days.
> 
> Big thanks to [machiavellianFictionist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/machiavellianFictionist) for proofreading and being super awesome, far far better than I am. Lots of thanks too to my lovely girlfriend [Ruby](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RubyAndNanaAO3) for beta reading and being one of my biggest supporters.
> 
> Thank you too to my official supporters, send a PM or hop on the discord server for details.


	26. Chapter 26

Rather surprisingly, nobody else found out about Marinette and Chloé’s relationship, despite a few close calls. Perhaps the closest they’d gotten to being found out was the time Marinette had pulled her aside in the locker room. They’d been so engrossed in one another, they hadn’t noticed another class coming in to get changed for gym, and so had been forced to hide inside a locker. All in all, it had been a memorable experience that Chloé both wanted to repeat many times over and never think of again.

Despite the near misses, Chloé could comfortably say this was the happiest she’d been in a long time. It more than made up for most of the class continuing to shun her. Although ever since the incident outside the bathroom, people had started to leave her alone. Marinette’s support seemed to have swayed at least some people and Chloé was very pleased to note that Lila’s star seemed to be falling accordingly.

Of course, she still had her staunch supporters in Sabrina, Alya and Kim, but the rest of the class weren’t quite so lemming-like anymore. She’d even overheard Max earlier that day asking Lila to cite her sources when she claimed that XY’s latest album was dedicated to her.

This did have the downside of making Lila particularly pissy for the rest of the day, to the point where she’d deliberately shoulder-checked Chloé three times. Marinette was oddly pleased by this development, whilst also being enraged at Lila for trying to hurt her girlfriend.

“It means she’s getting desperate, Chlo.” She explained as the pair sat in the classroom together after school, Marinette sitting comfortably in Chloé’s lap. They were going to go back to the hotel to watch some more anime, but Marinette had insisted they hang back for a bit. At the time, it hadn’t occurred to Chloé what Marinette had intended, but in hindsight, she probably should have realised Marinette had less than innocent intentions.

“Does it?” Chloé raised an eyebrow sceptically, not quite able to keep a straight face as she lifted herself up on her elbows to look at Marinette.

“She’s never resorted to physical stuff before. You’ve noticed how she’s losing control of the class.”

“I have.” Chloé answered hesitantly, unsure of where this was leading.

“Yeah, she’s losing control and her normal methods aren’t working.” Marinette smiled happily. “It means we’re beating her.”

“You seem awfully happy about it.” Marinette’s smile twisted into a confused frown.

“I mean, why wouldn’t I be?”

“You’re Marinette, you’re the goody-good class representative, second only to Ladybug in terms of being a paragon of morality. You’re not supposed to take enjoyment from the suffering of others.” Chloé pointed out, and Marinette’s frown deepened.

“I’m not, really. I mean, I wouldn’t if it was anyone else, but this is Lila.” Marinette huffed, not quite meeting Chloé’s eye. “I didn’t like her before and then she hurt you, so I really don’t like her.”

“She’s not the only person who’s hurt me.” Chloé argued, but Marinette’s frown didn’t budge.

“She’s the one who instigated it all in the first place.”

“I made myself a target for her.” Sighing at Chloé’s stubbornness, Marinette slid off of her girlfriend and out from behind the desk.

“I don’t know why this matters so much to you, Chlo. There’s nothing wrong with a little schadenfreude.” Chloé sat up properly and swung her legs off the bench.

“I don’t want to have to keep thinking about her. She’s ruined enough of my life already, and I’m actually at a point where I feel happy because I’ve got you.” She admitted, twiddling her thumbs in her lap and staring resolutely at the wooden surface of the desk.

“So you just want to give up? Let her win?” Chloé could feel Marinette’s confused stare lingering on her. “That doesn’t sound very Chloé-like.”

“She’s already losing ground without us doing anything, you said it yourself.” Bringing her hands up onto the desk, Chloé continued to fidget with her fingers. “We don’t need to get involved and make ourselves more of a target.”

“Chlo…” Marinette started but she was interrupted by a loud squeal from outside the classroom.

“Lee-Lee!” Chloé didn’t have time to react before Marinette dove for her, and pulled her down behind the desk, finger firmly on her lips. It was just in the nick of time too, as the classroom door slammed open and the giggling squeals entered the room.

“Come on ‘Brina, there’s no one here.” A familiar lilting voice rang out in the not-quite empty classroom.

“But, Lee-Le-.” Sabrina’s protest was cut off suddenly, and Chloé and Marinette exchanged glances.

As quietly as she could, Chloé slid out from underneath Marinette and retrieved a compact from her bag, which lay on the floor beside them.

Opening it up, Chloé raised it as high as she dared and the two looked in the small mirror to see what was going on. Chloé had had a vague suspicion, the scenario felt very familiar, and sure enough, reflected in the compact were Lila and Sabrina locked in a scandalous embrace. Lila had Sabrina pressed up against the chalkboard and appeared to be giving her the make-out session of her life.

“That little hypocrite.” Marinette hissed in Chloé’s ear as the couple(?) at the front of the room broke apart.

“Lee-Leeeeeee.” Sabrina whined, leaning forwards to continue kissing Lila, but was held back against the wall by a firm hand.

“‘Brina, you know my kisses don’t come free.” Lila spoke in a saccharine tone as though chiding a small child. “If you want more, I’m going to need you to do something for me.”

Chloé tore her gaze away from the mirror to look at Marinette and was surprised that she was unable to interpret her girlfriend’s expression. If she had to guess it was some mix of horror and glee.

“What do you need me to do?” Sabrina asked, surprisingly eager for someone who’d just been told that she needed to earn Lila’s affection.

“Well, just this morning, Max was very rude to me. He had to gall to think I’d lie!” Lila was very good at sounding outraged. Then again, she probably was outraged that someone had called her out and she was just transferring it.

“What do you want me to do about it?” Chloé could just imagine the eager puppy-like smile on Sabrina’s face, she’d worn it often enough whenever Chloé had ordered her to do something.

“Awww, ‘Brina, I’m sure you can think of something.” Lila’s voice was sickening, Chloé had no idea how Sabrina didn’t find it infuriatingly grating to listen to. “Just make sure he knows not to question me again.”

There was a moment of silence, then Sabrina asked curiously. “But why?” Chloé and Marinette exchanged surprised looks. Was Sabrina actually questioning Lila?

“Because it’s the only way I can keep Chloé from seizing power again, silly.” Lila’s voice dripped with condescension and made Chloé’s skin crawl. “Do you want to go back to that? Being her little errand girl and not even receiving a scrap of affection for your devotion?”

“N-No, Lee-Lee.” Sabrina whimpered fearfully, and Chloé felt her stomach know uncomfortably. She hadn’t been that bad, had she?

“Good. Then go on and make it happen. If you do it by tomorrow morning, I’ll give you all the kisses you want.” Chloé could feel the self-satisfied smirk on Lila’s face as Sabrina chirped out an affirmative and practically bolted from the room.

Lila stayed in the classroom for a little bit after Sabrina left. Marinette and Chloé watched as she reapplied her lipstick and admired herself in her own mirror before snapping it shut and leaving the classroom.

Chloé and Marinette stayed under the desk for a couple of minutes, just to make sure they’d been left alone, before they emerged out from under the desk. Marinette hopped to her feet first and offered a hand to Chloé.

“Did that really happen?” She asked as she accepted the hand and got to her feet, brushing herself off.

“Yep!” Chloé paused in her dusting to look at Marinette, who had a bright grin on her face.

“Why are you smiling like that?”

“Because now we can take Lila down!” Marinette chirped and without warning leaned in to press a quick kiss to Chloé’s cheek. “Let’s get going, don’t want to get interrupted again.” Grabbing Chloé’s hand and their bags, Marinette pulled her down the steps and out of the classroom.

“Wait, Mari, what do you mean?!” Chloé yelped as Marinette pulled her down the stairs two at a time.

“I’ll explain back at the hotel.” Marinette said over her shoulder, not looking back and instead pulling even more insistently on Chloé.

The pair half-ran half-stumbled through the streets, Chloé repeatedly asking Marinette what she was doing and Marinette saying the same thing until they finally reached the hotel. With a hurried greeting to Jean-François, Marinette hauled Chloé into the lift and jabbed the button for Chloé’s floor.

“Mari, can you please tell me what you’re talking about?” Chloé asked once she’d caught her breath but Marinette simply laughed.

“We’re nearly there, Chlo. You can be so impatient sometimes.” The lift dinged on the penthouse floor and Marinette pulled Chloé out of the lift and the short distance to her room. Once the door was shut behind them, Marinette let go of Chloé to throw herself onto her bed.

“Now will you explain why you’re so happy?!” Chloé burst out, starting to get annoyed at the lack of answers. “We just saw Sabrina getting manipulated by Lila, and you’re celebrating?”

“I’m not celebrating that!” Marinette sat upright and pouted up at Chloé. “I know what Lila’s doing to Sabrina is awful.”

“Then why are you happy rather than angry or horrified?”

“Because now we have the leverage to take down Lila!” Marinette threw her hands in the air in an excitement that Chloé did not share.

“What leverage?” Chloé tilted her head in confusion.

“Don’t you remember that time Alix got akumatized into Princess Yuri?” Chloé nodded. She remembered, just like she remembered recklessly throwing herself into danger. “And before that, when Lila found out you like Princess Yuri and she called you a… well, that word.”

Chloé nodded again. “I remember. It’s not like she was wrong though.”

“That’s not the point, Chlo.” Marinette sighed, shaking her head. “She called you that, and we just saw her full on kissing Sabrina. She’s a massive hypocrite!” Chloé was starting to piece things together now that Marinette was spelling it out to her.

“So you intend to threaten her with that or something?” Something uncomfortable twisted in Chloé’s stomach, but she couldn’t quite pinpoint it.

“Well, we can use it to get her to stop lying all the time and stop manipulating Sabrina.”

“But… That means we’d be threatening to out her.” Marinette blinked a couple of times, then to Chloé’s surprise, shrugged.

“I guess, but it’s Lila.” Chloé had no idea where this was coming from and she didn’t like it. This wasn’t like Marinette at all. “She’s a liar and a hypocrite, and she’s done nothing but make your life miserable.”

“That still doesn’t make it right though!” Chloé insisted, folding her arms defiantly. “Ladybug wouldn’t do this.”

“You don’t know what Ladybug would do…” Marinette mumbled, looking away. This suggestion gave Chloé pause for a moment. Her latest interactions with the hero hadn’t exactly given her a great impression, but doing something like this was way too far.

“Mari, why are you so insistent upon taking Lila down?” Chloé asked, trying a change of tack. Marinette looked at her in surprise.

“Because she’s evil, and all it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing.” Marinette explained simply. “And she hurt you, and I don’t want her hurting you again.”

“But no matter how evil she may, that doesn’t mean we should be using bad tactics ourselves, right?” Chloé argued, not knowing why Marinette was so insistent upon this. “And what if it doesn’t work? We’ve got no evidence, no one will believe us and we’ll just make ourselves even bigger targets.”

“You said that earlier too...” Marinette fixed Chloé with a scrutinising look. “Chloé, why are you so insistent upon avoiding antagonizing Lila?”

“I’m not!” Something was pounding in Chloé’s head and she could feel her heart starting to pound.

“Yes, you are!” Marinette insisted, getting up and looking directly into Chloé’s face. “Why are you so scared of Lila?” Chloé’s breathing was getting fast now, this was familiar, but she hadn’t felt like this in quite a while. “Chloé?”

“I’m not scared of her, I’m scared for you!” She finally shrieked before clapping a hand over her mouth and speed-walking into the living area of her rooms. Marinette quickly followed after her, reaching out but Chloé jerked away before slumping down on the sofa. Holding her head in her hands, Chloé tried to control her breathing. It had been a while since she’d had a freakout, she’d almost hoped they were gone for good now that she’d resolved her issues surrounding her sexuality and Marinette.

“Chlo, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to stress you like that. Try to relax and breathe. Do you want me to ring down for some tea?” Chloé shook her head at the last offer and instead curled up on the sofa. She wanted to hug her girlfriend, the pressure normally made her feel calmer, but it was Marinette who’d set this off in the first place and the idea of contact with her made Chloé’s stomach lurch.

She remained like that for what felt like hours, willing herself to calm down, and eventually her breathing eased and she slowly was comfortable enough to uncurl.

“I’m sorry, Mari.” She mumbled, staring ashamedly at the floor.

“No, you shouldn’t be sorry. It’s my fault.” Marinette apologised, settling on the chaise beside Chloé, but with a noticeable distance between them. “Are you going to be okay?”

“I think so.” Chloé’s voice was still quiet and a little raspy from her laboured breathing. “Can you hold me, please?” Marinette acquiesced immediately, closing the gap between them and throwing her arms around Chloé’s shoulders.

“I’m sorry.” Marinette mumbled into Chloé’s shoulder. Reaching up, Chloé patted Marinette’s hand gently.

“It’s okay.” She murmured, squeezing softly and taking comfort in Marinette’s weight resting on her.

After a little while of them staying like that, Marinette spoke tentatively. “Chlo, why are you scared for me?”

She didn’t answer immediately, preferring instead to pull closer into Marinette’s embrace. “She was going to ruin you at the start of the year, until I told her not to and threatened her.”

“You did what?”

“You and Adrien weren’t going to do anything about her, so I did something and I told her to leave you alone.” Marinette stayed quiet for a moment but squeezed Chloé tighter.

“You did that for me?” She asked and Chloé shrugged.

“Kind of, I don’t really know what I was doing. But it doesn’t matter why I did it. What matters is that’s why she went after me, why she turned my best friend against me, why she discredited me in front of the entire class and played havoc with my order. Why she got my spot in the locker room removed.” The words spilled out and Chloé shuffled over so she could look up at Marinette. “And if you anger her, she’ll do that to you too. She already has been with Césaire.”

Marinette hummed in thought, mulling over Chloé’s words. “That’s a risk I have to take. I can’t just stand by and let the person who hurt you get away with it.”

“But-.”

“No buts.” Marinette insisted sternly. “I care about you a lot, Chlo, and I am doing this.”

“Even if I can’t stop you from going after Lila, please don’t do it like this.” Chloé pleaded, realising she wasn’t going to win that battle, but she could still fight this one. “Just think about how scared you were when you thought Césaire might out you after you came out to her.”

That reminder gave Marinette pause, and Chloé kept at it. “No one deserves that, not even Lila.” Marinette’s resolve was definitely waning, and it broke completely with Chloé’s last point. “And you wouldn’t just be outing her, you’d be outing Sabrina too.”

“I would, wouldn’t I?” There was a note of horror in Marinette’s voice and she clung tight to Chloé. “I-I just got so caught up in making Lila pay, I didn’t think.” She gave a loud sniff and Chloé felt wetness seeping through her cardigan. “I’m a terrible person and hero.”

“No you’re not.” Chloé tried to reassure Marinette.

“How could I even consider outing someone like that? What’s wrong with me?” Marinette’s plea was muffled by Chloé’s cardigan, and the blonde reached up to pet her head.

“Nothing’s wrong with you, it’s okay.” She soothed, stroking Marinette’s head the same way she liked hers to be. “You’re okay, Mari.”

After several minutes of this, Marinette’s tears seemed to have subsided, and with a bit of sniffling, she retreated from Chloé’s embrace.

“Thank you, Chlo, you didn’t have to do that. You just had a freak out and everything.” Chloé shook her head at Marinette’s attempts to self-deprecate herself further.

“I wanted to, and we’ll come up with something to deal with Lila. I promise.” Marinette smiled a little and nodded.

“Was that our first fight as a couple?”

“Maybe?” Chloé shrugged. “As far as fights go, it could have gone a lot worse.” Marinette nodded in agreement and shuffled up into Chloé’s side.

“Can we watch some more  _ Criss Cross Stars _ ?” She asked hopefully, and Chloé nodded, reaching out for the remote and turning on the TV. Snuggling into one another as the OP started playing, Chloé sighed contentedly. They’d be okay. They had each other, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess we finally got explicit confirmation of what Lila and Sabrina have been up to together and hoo boy is it unhealthy. Also Marinette going a little overboard in her protectiveness of Chloé, I think it makes for an interesting shift in dynamic to have Marinette be the hotheaded one and Chloé the voice of restraint. Anyway, the actual plot's gonna come back soon, so look forward to that.
> 
> I've set up a [discord](https://discord.gg/4t3y25e) so feel free to join and stuff, I'm pretty active there these days.
> 
> Big thanks to [machiavellianFictionist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/machiavellianFictionist) for proofreading and being the best at it. Lots of thanks too to my lovely girlfriend [Ruby](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RubyAndNanaAO3) for beta reading.
> 
> Thank you too to my official supporters, send a PM or hop on the discord server for details.


	27. Chapter 27

“Chloé, I still can’t believe you didn’t realise these two were in love with each other.” Marinette snorted rolling over to nudge into Chloé. The two of them were relaxing in Chloé’s suite, reading manga, and Marinette had finally gotten around to catching up with Princess Yuri.

“Mari, you know I’m not good with reading emotions.” Chloé whined petulantly, elbowing Marinette in the side as the other girl giggled.

“I know, but still, just look at them.” Marinette showed Chloé the page she was currently reading, where Akiko and Mariko were engaged in a tight hug that had been given a full page spread, complete with those strange little bubble things in the background.

“They’re just hugging! That could’ve just meant they were friends.” Chloé protested huffily as her girlfriend continued to giggle.

“They tell each other they love them nearly every chapter!” Marinette managed to choke out in between snorts of laughter.

“Platonically! They meant it platonically!” Chloé got off the bed and marched off in a huff to sit on the chaise, pointedly not looking at Marinette.

“ _ They _ might have, but the authorial intent was clearly for it to be read as romantic.” Marinette said as she got up as well to follow Chloé. “You’re not really mad, are you?”

“No…” Chloé sighed, leaning on Marinette’s shoulder. “I just don’t like being reminded of my flaws like that.”

“I’m sorry, Chlo.” Marinette reached up to pat Chloé on the head. “I’ll stop teasing you about it so much.”

“Thank you.” Nuzzling in a little closer to her girlfriend, Chloé let out a contented hum. “I’m sorry for being so weird about my quirks.”

“Never be sorry for that.” Marinette insisted firmly. “They make you, Chloé, and I love you.” Marinette’s hand froze as her brain caught up with what she’d said and she let out a small squeak of embarrassment.

“Did-did you just say you love me?” Chloé stammered, heart thumping hard in her chest.

“I might have?” Marinette mumbled nervously, eyes flickering around the room.

“B-But why?” Chloé whispered, casting her eyes down at the floor. “I’m nothing special or good.”

“You are!” With a firm hand, Marinette took Chloé by the chin and raised her head to meet her gaze. “Chloé, you are the most special and amazing girl I know. You work so hard to be a good person, and I know you worry about it a lot, but you’ve done so much for me. So yes, I do love you.”

Chloé could feel the luminescent blush rising in her cheeks at Marinette’s words and it took her a moment to articulate a response. “I love you too.” She murmured quietly, almost afraid that her own admission might somehow scare Marinette away.

Instead, Marinette’s face broke into a wide grin and she leaned in eagerly, smashing her lips against Chloé’s. It was inelegant, like their first few kisses had been, but it was filled with so much care and love that Chloé didn’t mind one bit. She was well aware that her lipstick was getting smudged all over Marinette’s mouth and mixing with the other girl’s lip balm, but that didn’t matter.

Eventually, Marinette pulled away, grinning down at her still flushed girlfriend. “Your lipstick’s smudged.”

“Yeah, well, yours is too.” Chloé shot back, though any malice it might have had was ruined by her happy smile.

“I don’t wear lipstick though.” Marinette teased back, playing along with the game.

“Yes you do, right here.” Reaching up, Chloé poked Marinette’s lip where some of her lipstick had smudged on. She squeaked a little when Marinette shifted her lips down a little to plant a small kiss on Chloé’s finger. “Mariiiii.”

“Yes, Chlo?” Marinette smirked mischievously as Chloé buried her face in the crook of Marinette’s neck. Her grumpy hiding from Marinette’s gentle ribbing was interrupted from a buzzing in her bedroom.

Looking up curiously, Chloé recognised it as her phone and got up to fetch it, ignoring Marinette’s grumping at her leaving. Picking up the phone, Chloé was surprised and immediately suspicious as she didn’t recognise the number. She never gave out her phone number if she could help it. The only people who had it were Marinette, Adrien, Alix. Oh, and Sabrina, and by extension, Lila. It wasn’t Lila’s number though.

“Who is it?” Marinette called from the living area.

“I don’t know the number.” Chloé called back, frowning at her phone as it continued to buzz, unsure as to whether she should answer it. She did not like answering unknown calls, she wasn’t fond of using the phone at the best of times.

“Maybe it’s a crank caller?” Marinette suggested, getting up and walking over to join Chloé.

“Maybe…” Chloé hummed as the phone stopped buzzing and it listed a missed call. “If it was important, they’d leave a message.” No message was left though. Instead, the phone started buzzing again, listing the same number.

“They’ll probably keep calling if you don’t answer.” Marinette said, squinting down at the number.

Groaning in frustration and knowing Marinette was probably right, Chloé answered the call. “Hello, who is this and how did you get my number?”

“Hello, Chloé. It’s Kagami. I got your number from Adrien.” Came the reply, and Chloé blinked in surprise.

“What, Kagami?” She asked in confusion, which was mirrored by Marinette who was listening in beside her.

“That is what I said.” Chloé rolled her eyes at this rather unhelpful response.

“Right, of course. Let me rephrase. Why are you calling me?”

“Oh. Adrien and I wanted to talk to you in person. Are you available?” There was something odd about the way Kagami said Adrein’s name, but she chalked it up to French not being Kagami’s first language. Shooting a glance at Marinette, who couldn’t hear Kagami’s side of the conversation, Chloé covered the receiver.

“Kagami and Adrien want me to meet with them.” She hissed to Marinette, who raised her eyebrows curiously.

“Hello, Chloé?” Kagami asked curiously and Chloé hastily removed her hand.

“Yes, Kagami, I’m still here.” She answered hastily.

“So are you free?” Chloé quickly covered up the receiver again to talk to Marinette.

“Should I meet them? They want to meet now.” Marinette nodded her head rapidly.

“Yes, I’m free. Should I come over to Adrien’s place?” There was a moment of silence on Kagami’s end, then she came back.

“I don’t think that would be such a good idea, Adrien’s father is home today.”

“Right. Where, then?” Chloé asked, cocking her head a little even though Kagami couldn’t see her. There was another brief silence before Kagami replied.

“Do you know the café on Rue de Longchamps?” Chloé looked to Marinette.

“Café on Rue de Longchamps?” Marinette thought for a moment, then nodded.

“I know it.”

“Yes, I can meet you there.” Chloé replied to Kagami.

“Good. Adrien and I shall see you there in fifteen minutes.” Before Chloé could say anything else, Kagami hung up, rather rudely too.

“Well, that was odd.” Marinette commented as Chloé tucked her phone in a pocket and started looking around for her shoes. “I wonder what they want to talk to you about.”

“I have no idea. I’m mostly grateful Adrien seems to be reaching out to me at last.” Chloé said as she found a pair of shoes and pulled them on. “Though I am also quite annoyed it’s both taken this long  _ and _ it was Kagami who called, not him.”

“Maybe it’s something he’s shy about?” Marinette suggested as she too began looking around the room for something.

“What are you doing?” Chloé asked in confusion as she wiped off her smudged lipstick and reapplied it.

“Looking for my shoes of course. If you think I’m not coming as well, then you’d be dead wrong.” Marinette smirked triumphantly as she found her shoes discarded under the bed.

“Kagami and Adrien only wanted to talk to me though.” Chloé pointed out, as she finished touching up her makeup and grabbed a handbag. “And what will they think when they see us together?”

“Everyone knows that we’re friends, Chloé. They won’t be that surprised that we spend time together outside of school.” Marinette argued, hopping on one foot as she tried to put on her shoes and glare at Chloé.

“But what if they’re able to figure us out?” Chloé began to fret, thinking of all the things that could go wrong if that were indeed to occur.

“They won’t, they’ll have no idea what to look for. Alix only figured us out because she’s gay herself and saw us kissing.” Marinette said, though an odd frown twisted across her face.

“Mari, are you upset about something?” Chloé asked, having learned by now it was just far easier to ask Marinette than to try to puzzle it out herself.

“It’s nothing, I’m being silly.” Marinette sighed, rubbing her hands together nervously.

“You’re not, just tell me, please.” Reaching out, Chloé took Marinette’s hand and looked at her imploringly.

“It’s just…” Marinette sighed again. “We just said that we love each other, and now you’re embarrassed about even being seen in public with me.” A small stab of guilt needled at Chloé’s heart. “I know you’re afraid of getting outed, I am too, but it just feels wrong right after we said those things.”

“...You’re right.” Chloé let her head hang in shame. “I’m just being paranoid. I’m sure they’ll understand if you came along as well.”

Marinette smiled a little and leaned up to press a quick kiss to Chloé’s cheek. “Okay. Love you, Chlo.”

“Love you too, Mari.” Chloé replied with a fond eyeroll. “You’re just going to say that all the time now, aren’t you?”

“I might.” Marinette smirked and Chloé just sighed, resigning herself to her fate.

“I suppose it could be worse.” She smiled faintly down at her girlfriend. “We should get going, we don’t want to be late.”

* * *

It didn’t take them long to walk to the café Kagami had directed them to, and Chloé was quite surprised to see Adrien already waiting for them at a table outside, with Kagami sitting opposite him. In her experience, Adrien was one of the least prompt people she knew, though he did make something of an effort since he knew how much it bothered her. It was probably Kagami’s influence that ensured he was on time.

As they approached the pair, Adrien looked up and his face blanched. He tapped Kagami on the hand and gestured frantically over her shoulder, the Japanese girl turned to look as Adrien started talking to her, though Chloé couldn’t hear what he was saying from this distance.

As they got closer, he actually tried to get up and leave, but was held back by a firm hand from Kagami. He looked very rather reluctant, but sat back down, fidgeting nervously as Chloé and Marinette reached the table.

“Hi, Kagami, hi Adrien! It’s been a while.” Marinette smiled brightly at the two seated teens.

“Hello, Marinette. I was unaware you’d be joining us.” Kagami’s smile was polite as her eyes flickered between Chloé and Marinette.

“Yes, well, Chloé and I were working on something when you called, and she felt it would be rude to just leave me when we’d made plans.” Marinette’s smile did not falter as Kagami nodded slowly in agreement.

“I see. Please take a seat.” She gestured to the two free seats, shuffling her own around so that she was sitting beside Adrien who still looked very nervous.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” Chloé asked once she was seated and had ordered a coffee from the waiter. Adrien continued to fidget awkwardly, mouth opening and closing without saying anything.

“Come on, Adrien, we agreed to this.” Kagami said with a sigh and there was that odd inflection in the way she said ‘Adrien’ again. “And we agreed this would be good for you.”

“We agreed that I should tell Chloé, we said nothing about Marinette.” He protested, eyes still flickering around nervously. “I still don’t like that you said we should do this so publicly. Chloé and I are famous.”

“There wasn’t anywhere else, we already discussed this. Your father is home at the moment and it took us a lot of effort to sneak you out, and my place isn’t any better, since my mother has ears like a bat.” Kagami reeled off matter-of-factly.

“You could have come to the hotel.” Chloé pointed out, and Kagami shrugged.

“Perhaps, but we’re here now, so stop putting it off.” Kagami prodded Adrien in the arm repeatedly.

“Is it about why you’ve been avoiding me for ages?” Chloé asked, folding her arms as she stared down Adrien.

“Kind of…” He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “I’ve been… working some stuff out, and Kagami’s been helping me with it.”

“I could’ve helped you.” Chloé insisted with a frown but Adrien shook his head.

“You’re my oldest friend, Chloé. I needed someone who I could trust but hasn’t known me for as long.” Adrien shuffled uncomfortably for a moment. “And I didn’t think you’d react too well to what I’m about to say.”

“Well, maybe if you’d just try and tell me, you might be surprised.” Huffing irritably, Chloé kept her arms folded as she waited for Adrien’s explanation. Her expression softened a little as Marinette laid a gentling hand on her arm.

“Don’t be so hard on Adrien, Chlo, I’m sure you’ve been in a similar position.” Chloé recognised the veiled warning after a couple of seconds and she relented, uncrossing her arms as she waited patiently for Adrien to explain.

There were a few long moments of painful silence, during which Chloé’s coffee arrived. Just as her patience was beginning to wear thin, Adrien finally spoke.

“I’ve been thinking for a long time, about how I never really felt comfortable with how people saw me, especially when I was modelling.” Adrien’s hands fisted, crumpling up napkins until Kagami placed a hand on top of his. “How it felt wrong to be called handsome or complimented for my ‘boyish looks’.”

There was a soft sound from Marinette and Chloé looked over at her in confusion to see comprehension dawning on her face. “Oh…”

“What?” Chloé’s head swivelled between Marinette and the others, silently begging for an answer. “I don’t understand.”

“Chloé, I’m… I’m not a boy.” Adrien mumbled before flinching away, as though expecting some kind of tirade. Chloé was just mildly confused, it was ringing a bell but she couldn’t quite pin it and it was really frustrating. Screwing up her face as she tried to remember, Chloé wracked her brains, but all she could get was that it was something Marinette had said, so she looked imploringly at her girlfriend.

“I think Adrien’s trying to say that…” Marinette looked over at Adrien with a frown. “Sorry, you didn’t mention pronouns or a new name.”

“Oh, um, she/her please, and I like Adrienne for now.” There was that odd inflection on Adrien’s name again, but Marinette seemed to get it as she nodded and turned back to Chloé.

“What Adrienne’s saying is that she’s trans.” She looked to the model for confirmation and received a nod in answer. Then it clicked in Chloé’s head. That anime they’d watched a couple of weeks ago! Marinette had told her about this then. She understood now!

“Ohhhhhh.” Her happiness at finally catching up with everyone was short-lived as it was replaced with irritation. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?!”

“I-What?” Adrienne asked, confused by this sudden shift in attitude.

“You said you’d been thinking about this for a long time, so why didn’t you tell me?! I thought I was your best friend, and instead you went to her!” Chloé gestured irritably at Kagami.

“Chlo, calm down.” Marinette instructed firmly, frowning at her. “Adrienne’s very brave for telling us this.”

“But I’m supposed to be her best friend.” Chloé said pitifully, her anger slipping away to be replaced with sadness and regret. She knew she hadn’t always been the best friend to Adrienne, but she was her oldest, that had to count for something, right?

“Chloé, I-I thought you’d get upset and wouldn’t understand.” Adrienne mumbled, refusing to look up from her drink. “I know you don’t like change, and this is a pretty big one. And you’ve known me for far far longer than pretty much anyone else. I thought you wouldn’t be able to get past all that.”

“Oh…” Chloé looked down at her drink in shame.

“Chlo, it’s not your fault. It’s okay.” Marinette patted her gently on the shoulder, and Chloé wanted nothing more than to bury her face in Marinette’s neck, but couldn’t, since they were in public.

“Maybe we should let these two talk things out alone for a little while?” Kagami suggested, already getting to her feet. “I also wanted to talk to you, Marinette, we haven’t spoken much at all.”

Marinette looked between Kagami and Chloé before nodding and getting to her feet to Chloé’s distress.

“Mari, don’t go.” She implored, reaching out for her girlfriend’s hand.

“It’s only for a little while. You and Adrienne have quite a lot to talk about.” With a small wave, Marinette left with Kagami, leaving Chloé and Adrienne alone together in a very awkward silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! The thing with Adrienne that we've been building up to for a while finally lands. I think a few people started to pick up on it but as I have mentioned in my previous works, I find explicit statement of these things to be far better than just hinting. Chloé and Adrienne clearly have a lot to talk about though, hopefully they'll come out of it stronger, they both need a bigger support network.
> 
> I've set up a [discord](https://discord.gg/4t3y25e) so feel free to join and stuff, I'm pretty active there these days.
> 
> Big thanks to [machiavellianFictionist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/machiavellianFictionist) for proofreading and being the best at it. Lots of thanks too to my lovely girlfriend [Ruby](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RubyAndNanaAO3) for beta reading and being super cute.
> 
> Thank you too to my official supporters, send a PM or hop on the discord server for details.


	28. Chapter 28

“So…” Chloé began awkwardly, stirring a spoon around in her coffee as a distraction. “You’ve been thinking about this for a long time, then?” Adrienne squirmed awkwardly in her seat, pointedly looking everywhere except at Chloé.

“I… Yeah.” She finally admitted, twiddling her thumbs uncomfortably in her lap. “A few months, I think? It’s hard to pin down an exact date.”

Chloé nodded, that lined up with about the time Adrienne had started pulling away from their friendship. “Was there something that got you really thinking about it?”

“I guess.” Adrienne shrugged. “Like I said, it’s always been there, but I never really thought about what it meant until…” She trailed off for a moment. “Actually, I’d rather not say, it’s private.”

“Does-.”

“No, Kagami doesn’t know what it is either.” Adrienne cut her off sharply and gave Chloé a look. “Kagami’s been a good friend to me. I’d appreciate it if you could stop being so standoffish towards her.”

“I suppose I could.” Chloé folded her arms rebelliously. She didn’t really have anything against Kagami herself. The girl seemed sensible enough and had seen through Lila’s lies, which immediately put her higher than a lot of people in Chloé’s estimation. No, what she didn’t like was how Kagami had supplanted her as Adrienne’s confidante. Was she really that inflexible?

“That’s not good enough, Chloé, I want you to actually say it.” Chloé was rather surprised by Adrienne’s stern glare, almost the complete opposite of her earlier anxiety.

“Okay, fine, I’ll be nicer to Kagami.” Chloé agreed with a sigh, before fixing Adrien with a curious look. “You’re rather protective of her, aren’t you?”

Adrienne blushed deeply and quickly returned to her previous nervous stammering. “She’s just been a good friend, that’s all.”

“You mean like you haven’t?” It was mean of Chloé to say it, but it was the truth in her mind. “Adrienne, I’ve been through what’s felt like hell the last few months and I really would have liked you to have just been there for me.”

“I was dealing with stuff.” Adrienne defended herself, frowning. “Big important stuff.”

“And you thought the best way to deal with it was to pull away from all your friends?” Chloé raised an eyebrow at her friend. “You claim you didn’t tell me anything because I don’t like change, but why not talk to Marinette, or literally anyone else?”

“I…” Adrienne’s head dropped in shame. “I was scared. I didn’t know what to do or who to talk to.” She admitted, tracing circles on the table as Chloé sipped at her coffee to cover up her discomfort at pressing this sensitive button. “Honestly, I got lucky that Kagami was there at all.”

“We could have been there for you.” A small note of resentment slipped into Chloé’s tone, and Adrienne winced a little.

“Would you?” She asked quietly. “You just said you went through hell whilst I was working myself out. Would you have been able to be there for me properly?”

“I… I don’t know.” Chloé admitted, Thinking about it, she’d been so wrapped up in her issues with Lila and her sexuality that, even if Adrien had come to her, she probably wouldn’t have been very helpful or supportive. “But just ignoring your friends isn’t the answer.”

“... You’re right about that.” Sighing, Adrienne rested her chin on her hand. “Kagami’s been pushing for me to do something like this for a little while now, something about a larger support network.”

“That sounds like something Mari would say.” Chloé giggled softly before noticing Adrienne giving her an inquisitive look.

“Mari? I must have missed a lot if you’re using nicknames for one another. You finally buried the hatchet, then?”

Chloé bit her lip and gnawed at it, tasting the faint traces of where Marinette’s lip gloss had rubbed off a little. “In a manner of speaking…” She began, ignoring Adrienne’s sceptical eyebrow. She was torn. She did want to tell her that she and Marinette were now dating, wanted to brag a little, and Adrienne had just confided something big to her as something of an olive branch. But she was still scared. This was a big and private part of her life that she wasn’t quite sure she was ready to share.

If Ladybug was around, she’d probably tell Chloé to be brave and tell Adrienne, but Chloé didn’t really care all that much about whatever advice Ladybug had anymore. The hero clearly didn’t trust her, so why should she trust in Ladybug? That said, Marinette would probably prod her into telling Adrienne as well, and encourage her to be brave.

Taking a deep breath, Chloé steeled herself. “Actually, we more than buried the hatchet.”

“Oh?” Adrienne continued to look at her curiously as Chloé nodded nervously.

“Yes. We’re, um, we’re dating.” Adrienne opened her mouth, but Chloé ploughed on, afraid she’d lose her nerve if she didn’t get it all out. “I’m a lesbian, and Marinette is my girlfriend, and we’ve been dating ever since the trip to London became a trip into outer space.”

Chloé took a few sharp breaths as she waited for Adrienne’s answer, fighting the panicky whirl of thoughts in her head. She really should have waited for Marinette to come back to say this, then at least she’d have someone who knew how to help her through one of her freak outs.

“I... was not expecting that.” Adrienne finally said, looking rather bemused by Chloé’s confession. “You and Marinette, dating?” Chloé nodded silently. “Wow, um, congratulations, I guess?”

“You guess?”

“It’s a big surprise! Ever since you learned what a boyfriend was, you pursued me, and now you say you’re a lesbian? Of course I’m shocked.” Adrienne gesticulated animatedly as Chloé hissed at her.

“Keep your voice down! I’m not out really to anyone except you and Marinette’s parents. Oh and Alix.” She told her, looking around anxiously to check if anyone was eavesdropping on their conversation.

“You told Alix?” Adrienne sounded a little hurt by this.

“I didn’t tell her, she caught me and Marinette kissing at Gare du Nord.” Chloé told her with a frown. “It was unintentional.”

“Oh, okay…” Adrienne sat back in her chair, looking at Chloé intently. “You look happier.”

“I suppose I am happier.” Shrugging, Chloé took another drink of her coffee. “I mean, in some ways I’m not. I lost my best friend to Lila, who has taken it upon herself to ruin both my life and Marinette’s. Most of the class, and the school, come to think of it, hates me.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were going through all of that.” Adrienne tried to apologise, but Chloé shook her head.

“It’s fine. Well, it’s not fine, but it is better. I’ve got Mari, and that’s more than enough.”

“I never thought I’d see the day, Chloé Bourgeois and Marinette Dupain-Cheng getting along.” Adrienne joked, wiping at imaginary tears. “It brings a tear to my eye.”

“Stop it.” Chloé huffed, crossing her arms stubbornly. Before she could come up with a better riposte, however, there was a loud earth-shaking boom from down the street.

“Kagami! Where are you, my wayward daughter?” A loud voice bellowed out, making several people cover up their ears in pain. “I shall teach you not to disobey me again!”

“Well, that’s not good.” Chloé said, almost conversationally as she got to her feet. Adrienne meanwhile looked rather panicked. “I suppose that’s Kagami’s mother who’s been akumatized?”

“Kagami snuck out of the house this morning even though she was ordered not to!” Her eyes were wide as she too sprang to her feet and began running towards the akuma.

“Adrienne!” Chloé shouted after her friend, who didn’t respond and kept running. Groaning loudly, Chloé ran after her, going against her previous resolution not to run towards akumas. It was probably for the better though. Kagami and Marinette had been together, and Chloé was worried for her girlfriend’s safety.

As she rounded a corner into the square where the giant red centaur-like akuma was rampaging, Chloé realised that she’d somehow lost Adrienne.

“Adrienne? Adrienne?!” She called out, in a blind panic, looking around for her friends. She was so caught up in looking for them that she didn’t notice the large metal hoof coming down on her before it was too late.

She screamed and threw her arms up over her head in a vain attempt to protect herself from the end.

“I’ve got you!” A strong arm grabbed Chloé around the waist and pulled her out of the way, landing with her far outside the danger zone. Chloé was about to thank her saviour profusely, but then she realised who it was.

“Oh... thanks, Ladybug.” She said rather cooly, eyeing up the heroine. “I don’t suppose you have a Miraculous for me to use to help?” Ladybug shook her head, and was about to answer when a large cloud burst forth from the Akuma and reformed into a red spandex clad figure, who perched on a nearby building and pointed her sword at the Akuma.

“See, Mother? I can be elusive as the wind, for I am Ryuko!” There was a loud groan from Ladybug and Chloé looked over to see her bury her face in her hands.

“So, what was it you kept saying about keeping our identities a secret?” Chloé sniped acerbically, eliciting another groan from Ladybug. “Glad to see you’re picking new heroes so well.”

“Please don’t start, Chloé.” She mumbled, drawing back her arm and preparing to swing away. “Just get out of here and out of trouble.” Chloé was about to protest, but Ladybug threw out her yoyo and swung away, leaving behind a rather irked Chloé. The sheer nerve of Ladybug, to tell her off for revealing her identity and never trusting her with another Miraculous, and then going and entrusting one to a complete newbie who blurted out her own identity the moment she debuted.

She did have to admit though, Kagami was at least a good fighter, and she held her own against her giant akumatized mother. The two’s swords clashed and Chloé was torn between watching the fight and looking for Adrienne and Marinette.

She was about to go running off when she saw Kagami slip up and was nearly captured by the Akuma, only for Chat Noir to intervene and get sucked into the Akuma in Kagami’s place. Now she had to watch and see what was going to happen.

Ladybug and Kagami fled from the Akuma, trying to escape her, but she was too fast and was able to keep up with them as they darted around the square. Chloé groaned loudly. This was not going well and she knew she was going to have to break one of her rules.

Running out from her sheltered hiding space, Chloé hollered up at the Akuma. “Hey! You know you’re an overbearing control freak trying to live vicariously through her daughter?” Chloé didn’t know how much of that was true, but it did the trick, as it distracted the Akuma long enough for Ladybug and Kagami to get to cover. Of course, that left Chloé alone and unpowered to face off against a several storeys tall Akuma.

“And who do you think you are, insolent little girl, to instruct me on how I raise my daughter?!” The Akuma bellowed down at Chloé and she did her best not to flinch.

“Just a concerned citizen who knows what a bad mother looks like.” Chloé fired back, already tensing to run away as fast as she could from the enraged centaur.

“Why, you-!” The Akuma screamed and raised its sword high to bring it down on Chloé, who prepared to bolt.

“Mother!” A voice rang out and the sword stopped midswing as the Akuma and Chloé turned to look at Kagami, who once again stood up on the roof of a building, unarmed. “You were right, I do have much to learn.”

“At last you are starting to see sense, daughter. That’s good.” Reaching out, the Akuma grabbed Kagami and swallowed her as well before returning her attention to Chloé. “Now, to deal with you.”

“Oh fuck.” Chloé whimpered and started to run. This was by far the worst decision she’d made, even worse than the last time she’d face an Akuma without powers. At least then it hadn’t been a giant! Chloé could hear the sound of the sword swinging down, and she dove aside just in the nick of time as it cleaved a massive gash into the pavement.

“I really hope you heroes have a plan!” She screamed as she scrambled back to her feet to continue running. She was prepared to try to dodge again when a loud spluttering noise came from behind her. Chancing a look back, she was surprised to see water spilling out of the gaps in the Akuma’s armour.

There was a loud hacking and Chat Noir was expelled from the Akuma’s mouth, along with a wooden sword that he flailed wildly for and just about managed to lay a finger on. The item shattered, releasing the butterfly within, ready for Ladybug to come swooping in to catch and purify.

Chloé’s heart was pounding and she breathed heavily as she slowly made her way over to the heroes, Kagami reforming from the water whilst Ladybug threw her lucky charm into the air and restored everything.

“You know, a thank you would be nice.” She grumbled as the three heroes congratulated one another, completely ignoring Chloé and her contribution. Turning to look at the interruption, Ladybug sighed deeply.

“Chloé, what you did was incredibly risky and stupid. You could have gotten hurt. You don’t have powers to protect you.”

“I would if you would just trust me for once.” Chloé spat back, her hackles rising as Ladybug shook her head.

“I’ve told you before, Chloé, it’s just too dangerous. From now on, leave the fighting to us.” Ladybug gave her a stern look, and Chloé nodded reluctantly. “And I’m sorry, Kagami, but I’m afraid I can’t give you this Miraculous again. It’s too risky with people knowing your secret identity.”

“I understand, Ladybug, I was impulsive and reckless.” Kagami bowed in apology and removed her necklace, detransforming as she handed it over to Ladybug.

“You made a mistake, but you made up for it.” Ladybug assured her before throwing out her yoyo and zipping away. Chat Noir gave them an odd bow, mixed with what looked almost like a curtsey before he too left.

“I need to talk to my mother.” Kagami told Chloé jogging over to a car parked by the pavement. After about a minute of hushed conversation, the car drove off and Kagami rejoined Chloé. “She’s allowed me to stay out until dinner.”

“How gracious of her.” Chloé snarked as they started walking. “Do you know where Marinette is?”

“No, I lost her during the Akuma attack.” Kagami said, shaking her head. “Where’s Adrienne?”

“Same thing, I lost her when we were running to the fight. She was very worried about you.”

“She worries a lot about things.” Kagami smiled a little and Chloé felt her phone buzz in her pocket. Pulling it out she saw it was a text from Marinette.

“Marinette and Adrienne are back at the café.” She told Kagami as she tapped out a quick reply saying that they’d be there soon. They walked in slightly awkward silence for a bit before Chloé broke it. “So… Welcome to the club, I guess.”

“Club?”

“The ‘we fucked up and revealed our identities as superheroes’ club.” Chloé said with a wry smile. “Very exclusive membership.”

“I see.” Kagami chuckled politely. “Well I suppose I could be in worse company. What you did back there was very brave, if foolish.”

“You just called yourself impulsive and reckless.” Chloé pointed out with a huff.

“Perhaps, but I at least had the power to back myself up when I did that.” Kagami smiled in amusement as Chloé pouted at this. “Also, Marinette did speak very highly of you before we were interrupted.”

“She’s too nice like that.” Chloé blushed lightly at the idea of her girlfriend talking her up to others.

“I do suspect she was a little biased, given the two of you are dating.” Chloé choked a little as Kagami nonchalantly mentioned that.

“Did Marinette tell you that?” She hissed, glaring at the impassive girl.

“No, I worked it out for myself. You two aren’t very good at pretending not to be together.” Huffing and folding her arms, Chloé didn’t deign to respond to Kagami’s accusation as they rounded the corner and saw Marinette and Adrienne waiting anxiously for them.

“Chloé, there you are!” Marinette rushed over to her and began checking her over. “Adrienne said you both ran towards the attack.”

“I’m fine, Mari.” Chloé grumbled, secretly pleased at the attention Marinette was giving her. “Just had a bit of a close call with a giant sword.” Looking over at Kagami, Chloé saw that she too was being fussed over by Adrienne.

“Do you think we can get out of here?” Chloé asked. “I think I’ve had enough excitement for one day.”

“Of course.” Marinette smiled pulling in close to her side. “Your place or mine?”

“Yours, please.” Chloé sighed contentedly, though her eyes darted around to make sure they weren’t being watched. “Kagami? Adrienne? There’s still probably some things we need to talk about.”

“Sure.” Kagami answered for the two of them, looping an arm around Adrienne’s waist. Together, the four started to walk towards the bakery, Chloé reaching out to take Adrienne’s hand. There was still quite a bit they needed to discuss, but it felt good to have her oldest friend back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay for Chloé and Adrienne finally getting to talk some things out. It's a bit of a shame Kagami got exposed as a hero so publicly, still now she and Chloé have something to bond over now, so that's good.
> 
> I've set up a [discord](https://discord.gg/4t3y25e) so feel free to join and stuff, I'm pretty active there these days.
> 
> Big thanks to [machiavellianFictionist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/machiavellianFictionist) for proofreading and being super awesome. Lots of thanks too to my lovely girlfriend [Ruby](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RubyAndNanaAO3) for beta reading and keeping me going.
> 
> Thank you too to my official supporters, send a PM or hop on the discord server for details.


	29. Chapter 29

When Chloé arrived at school the next day, she was only a little surprised to see a ruckus off in one corner of the courtyard. Chloé walked over to Marinette, who was standing just off to the side of the mob of teens with Adrienne, who looked more than a little anxious as she craned her neck to look into the crowd.

“Kagami getting mobbed because of the Ryuko thing?” Marinette nodded in answer to Chloé’s question, and Chloe sighed deeply. After the akuma attack yesterday, the four had retreated back to Marinette’s house, and by the time they’d gotten there, the news had already broken that Kagami had been the one in the costume.

“Kagami doesn’t like crowds.” Adrienne mumbled nervously, standing up on tiptoes to look over the people.

“I’m sure she’ll be fine.” Chloé reassured her friend with a shake of her head as she was able to pick out some of the questions Kagami was being asked.

“Kagami, is it true Ladybug and Chat Noir are dating?”

“What was it like getting eaten by your mother?”

“Did you get Ladybug and Chat Noir’s autograph?”

Chloé rolled her eyes at the banal questions, though it was tainted with a stab of jealousy. Nobody had been this interested in her when she’d revealed herself as Queen Bee. Hell, half the questions had been about why Ladybug thought she was worthy of having a Miraculous, and the other half hadn’t been questions so much as just accusations that she was totally undeserving of such power.

Having enough of this disruption to her day, Chloé waded into the crowd, pushing her way through to the very uncomfortable-looking Kagami who seemed to be getting overwhelmed by all the attention.

“That’s enough, leave her alone.” Chloé instructed, summoning up her usual imperious tones, but it didn’t have quite the same effect as it once did. The questions did stop though, which was a small positive, although nobody made any move to let Kagami out of the crush.

“She’s just jealous of someone else getting the attention!” A spiteful voice called out from behind the crowd, and they all turned to look at who had spoken. Of course, it was Lila, smirking gleefully as she looked over the assembled students, with Sabrina at her side.

“Shut up, Lila.” Chloé snapped, emboldened by the rekindling of her friendship with Adrienne. “Unlike you, I’m not some kind of attention-whore.” That wasn’t strictly true. Chloé did enjoy the spotlight, thrived in it, in fact, but that didn’t mean she needed it all the time, unlike Lila, who seemed to have some kind of complex about being the centre of attention.

“Oh, so you’re not jealous that you got passed over again?” Lila’s smug smile didn’t shift as she sent the ball back into Chloé’s court.

“No, of course not.” Chloé lied, grinding her teeth in frustration. This wasn’t about her right now, though keeping her reputation as intact as possible was important. “I am glad. Now I have someone who understands what it’s like to carry the weight of Paris on your shoulders.”

“Only because you’re both failures who got outed.” Chloé suppressed a flinch at Lila’s wording, but she couldn’t help but cast a glance over at Marinette. Fortunately for Chloé, she didn’t have to answer. It seemed that, though the students were perfectly happy to stand aside and watch her get badmouthed, Kagami was popular enough that Lila’s insult didn’t land properly.

“Hey, don’t talk about Kagami like that!” someone from within the crowd shouted at Lila, and there was a murmur of agreement from the others. “It was a mistake, it’s not like she was being some kind of gloryhound.” Wincing at the small reminder of her past behaviour, Chloé took advantage of the distraction to pull Kagami away from the people who’d started to turn on Lila, and they escaped to a quieter area of the courtyard and into the locker room.

“Thank you, Chloé.” Kagami said, brushing herself off and straightening out her tie.

“It’s nothing, us hero fuckups need to stick together.” Chloé shrugged as Marinette and Adrienne hurried into the room after them.

“Kagami, are you okay?” Adrienne asked, sounding far more anxious than she normally would. Chloé wasn’t sure if she was imagining it or not, and she sidled over to Marinette as Adrienne fussed over Kagami.

“I know I’m not good at people stuff.” She murmured softly to her girlfriend. “But there’s something going on there, right?” Marinette nodded silently, though a small smile played across her lips as Adrienne finally finished making sure Kagami was okay.

“We should probably get going to class.” She suggested, blushing a little as she noticed that both Marinette and Chloé were looking at her.

“Good idea. Do you want to sit with us at lunch?” Marinette suggested, walking back to the door out into the courtyard and opening it for the others.

“I’d enjoy that. How about you, Adrienne?”

“Yeah, sure.” She agreed, following Kagami out of the room. “I’ll see you then.” There was a pause as Adrienne glanced back at Chloé and Marinette, hesitating over something. What it was wasn’t kept hidden for very long, as whilst Adrienne hesitated, Kagami leaned up on tiptoes to kiss Adrienne on each cheek before leaving with a small smile.

“She certainly seems a lot more personable now than before.” Marinette commented, tactfully ignoring the now bright red Adrienne. “I remember back when she first started here she was barely able to hold a conversation.”

“She’s gotten a lot better at talking to people.” Adrienne squeaked out as the three of them started towards their classroom, the mob of people in the courtyard having broken up by now. “She’s not that fond of it sometimes though. She likes her space.”

“I can get behind that.” Chloé chipped in, walking up the stairs to the second floor and carefully checking around to see if they’d be overheard before asking a question that had been bugging her for a little while. “Are you sure you want us to keep calling you Adrien in public?”

“Yes, I am.” Adrienne said, surprisingly firmly, and she too looked around to make sure they couldn’t be overheard. “And already told you the many reasons why I can’t come out yet.”

“I know, I know.” Chloé grumbled. “Feels wrong though, like it’s being disrespectful to you.”

“It’d be more disrespectful not to listen to me.” Adrienne sighed, shaking her head. “Look, I’d love to be able to be out, as I’m sure you two would like to be as well, but my father…” Adrienne drifted off sadly as they came to their classroom and entered.

The atmosphere in the room was unusually tense, and Chloé suspected it had something to do with how Lila was sat up at the back of the room, glowering down at everyone else. It seemed that the little incident in the courtyard hadn’t done her many favours, and Chloé was secretly pleased that Lila’s star was falling without the need for their intervention.

Bidding a quiet farewell to Adrienne, Chloé and Marinette took their seats and got ready for the lesson. Once her things were out, Chloé looked over at Adrienne, and was a little disappointed she still seemed to be quite withdrawn and wasn’t talking to Nino. Sadly, there wasn’t much she could really do about that for now, so she returned her attention to the front of the class as she slipped her free hand down beneath the desk to take Marinette’s and squeeze it gently.

“What’s that for, Chlo?” Marinette asked quietly, a smirk playing around the corners of her mouth.

“No reason, I just like holding your hand.” Chloé smiled back, enjoying how Marinette blushed a little at her words. It wasn’t often she could do that, and she tended to be the one on the receiving end of Marinette’s gentle teasing, so it was always fun to turn the tables on her.

With another squeeze, Chloé released Marinette’s hand and brought it up back into view as Mme Bustier entered the room and began setting up for the lesson.

* * *

“I’m telling you, Chloé is the biggest weeb ever!” Alix snorted with laughter as Chloé tried her best to melt into her seat. Lessons had passed uneventfully enough, and as agreed upon earlier, Chloé and Marinette met up with Adrienne and Kagami at lunch. They’d been having a rather pleasant conversation too about the rescheduled trip to London that had been moved to the end of next month, when it had been interrupted by Alix crashing into the one free seat at the table.

Alix had occasionally joined Chloé and Marinette for lunch, though she normally preferred to leave the school to go skating and get something from elsewhere. It seemed , however, that she’d been attracted by the presence of more people at the table and had taken it upon herself to embarrass Chloé as much as possible.

“Please, Alix, I will pay you whatever you want, just stop talking.” She moaned in desperation. Chloé wouldn’t normally feel so acutely embarrassed, Marinette enjoyed manga just as much as she did and she didn’t mind so much that Adrienne knew now. Her issue was the actual Japanese person sitting opposite her, watching her with an impassive gaze.

“Awww, come on, Chloé, lighten up.” Alix chirped with a mischievous smirk. “I haven’t even gotten to the best bit about how you realised your sexuality by reading manga.” Chloé wasn’t entirely sure how they’d even gotten onto this topic or how it had come out that both Adrienne and Kagami knew Chloé was gay, giving Alix pretty much free reign to tease her about it.

Whining in despair, Chloé looked to Marinette pleadingly for assistance, who shook her head with a sigh. “Alix, I think Chloé has had enough.” She told the skater firmly, who pouted, but acquiesced.

“Okay, fine. Never allowed to have any fun.” Alix grumbled, folding her arms whilst Chloé cast another nervous look at Kagami, whose face was still expressionless. If Chloé had still held antagonistic feelings towards Kagami, she might have added Kagami’s lack of outward emotion to her list of grievances. It was hard enough for Chloé to understand what people were feeling at the best of times, but having to contend with someone like Kagami? It was damn near impossible.

“Kagami?” Chloé’s voice was tentative as she decided to bite the bullet and just ask the girl how she felt. It was a few moments before Kagami answered, and only then it was because Adrienne elbowed her in the side.

“Oh sorry, Chloé, I was lost in my head.” She apologised, attempting a small smile.

“Okay?” Chloé was a little confused by this as Kagami continued.

“I was actually wondering if you could give some suggestions on some manga to read.” Chloé blinked nonplussed for a moment before nodding.

“Um, sure.” She tilted her head curiously. “Forgive me, this might come off as rude, but I would have expected that, of all the people here, you would be the one to read manga.”

“Chloé!” Adrienne hissed, looking a little scandalised, whilst Kagami gave no indication of being offended.

“I would have liked to.” She admitted, the corners of her mouth tugging down a little. “But Mother was very strict about what I was allowed to do and read as a child.”

“I’m sorry.” Chloé said automatically, like she always did whenever Adrienne mentioned her father’s latest bout of controlling behaviour. “If you give me some time to think, I can put together a list and loan you some books.”

“I think I’d like that.” Kagami gave Chloé a genuine smile before returning to her lunch.

“Well, that was heartwarming.” Alix spoke loudly, and Chloé rolled her eyes at the skater’s interruption. “Steering things back to something less sappy, has anyone else noticed that Lila’s been getting more snappy lately?”

“She has been a little more…” Marinette cast around for the right word. “Sharp the last week or so, yes.”

“People are finally getting some basic critical thinking and actually questioning her stories.” Chloé said smugly, once again feeling the satisfaction that order was reasserting itself without intervention. “Soon people will realise everything she’s said has been lies, and then she’ll have nothing.”

“Isn’t that rather harsh, Chloé?” Adrienne asked, that compassion of hers flaring up again.

“Nope.” Chloé popped the ‘p’ and allowed herself a smirk. “Not after everything she did to me and Mari. She deserves everything she gets.”

“Normally, I would be against being cruel and schadenfreude.” Marinette said, looking over at the table where Lila and Sabrina were sitting. “But in this case, I’ll make an exception. Lila brought things upon herself, and maybe if things do come crashing down on her, she’ll take it as a learning experience and try to be a better person.”

“I don’t know if she can.” Chloé shrugged. She didn’t really care either way whether Lila redeemed herself or whatever. So long as justice was served and things went back to the way they should be, she would be satisfied. “She’s pretty rotten.”

“Maybe, but I like to think everyone can change for the better.” Marinette looked around briefly before bumping her head against Chloé’s. “After all, you did.”

“I wasn’t that bad.” Chloé tried to argue, only to receive flat looks from the other four. “Okay, fine, I was awful.”

“I wouldn’t say awful.” Marinette said fairly. “Just rough around the edges. Very rough. But you got better.”

“I suppose I did.” With a shake of her head, Chloé pressed into Marinette’s side, only to be interrupted by a loud coughing from Alix.

“Okay, seriously, you two, if you don’t want to get outed, you’re going to need to tone the gayness down a lot.” She chided the couple, who reluctantly pulled apart and returned to their disappointing lunch. “Back to Lila, though. I do hope if she is going to fall, it’s soon. I’m worried about what she’ll do if she starts getting desperate.”

Alix was looking away from the group as she said this, over at Lila’s table, though she seemed to be more focused on Sabrina instead of Lila herself.

“You think she’ll try something actually dangerous and not just telling lies?” Kagami asked, rejoining the conversation now she was finished eating.

“She’s been akumatized at least twice now. Her losing power’s bound to make her a well of negativity.” Adrienne said, looking over at the table as well.

“Well, if she does, I’m sure Ladybug and Chat Noir will put a stop to it.” Kagami asserted confidently, looking over at Chloé in confusion when she snorted in derision.

“Somehow I’m not sure. Those two seem to bumble their way through things and don’t have the sense to recruit someone with actual experience.” Chloé remarked bitterly as she stabbed a sad looking tomato on her tray.

“Ladybug and Chat Noir do the best they can.” Marinette defended the heroes, sounding a little put out by Chloé’s statements. “And I’m sure they have a reason for everything that they do.”

“If you say so…” Chloé sighed. Truth be told, she’d almost given up hope on being entrusted with a Miraculous again after yesterday. Obviously Ladybug didn’t trust her and was holding some sort of grudge. “Still, Lila getting akumatized again is quite likely the way things are going.”

“Yeah, and quite frankly, it sucks.” Alix grumbled darkly, folding her arms and resting her elbows on the table. “We’re all basically forced into keeping shitty people happy lest they lose it and get akumatized.” Chloé nodded in agreement. She remembered Adrienne’s argument from the beginning of the year about not aggravating Lila further. It took on an extra layer of difficulty with Hawkmoth doing his thing.

“Well, if it happens, it happens, and Ladybug and Chat Noir will fix it if it does.” Marinette said firmly and with the air of someone who wanted to leave this particular topic of conversation behind. “So, how are people dealing with Ms Mendeleiev’s chemistry project?”

As the others started discussing the assignment, Alix complaining loudly about it, Chloé leaned into Marinette’s side.

“Are you okay?” She asked softly, and Marinette nodded.

“I’m fine, I just don’t like thinking about how we’ve got this supervillain looming over us all the time. We’re supposed to be teenagers and not have to worry about this sort of thing.” Marinette didn’t sound particularly fine, and from the tone of her voice, it sounded as though this was something she’d thought about before.

Silently, Chloé reached out and took Marinette’s hand beneath the table to squeeze comfortingly. “I’m sorry, it is stressful to think about. I don’t really like her all that much right now, but I can’t imagine how hard it must be for Ladybug to have the safety of the city weighing on her.” Marinette nodded in agreement, tracing her thumb over the back of Chloé’s hand.

Any further reassurances were stopped, however, by a loud cough from Alix. “If you two lovebirds are done, how are you two handling the assignment.” Rolling her eyes and giving Marinette’s hand one last squeeze, Chloé returned to the conversation, already missing the feeling of Marinette against her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just the kids getting to be kids for a little while and settle into the new friendship dynamics they're setting up. Just in time for the ending arc of this story to begin, so that'll be fun times ahead.
> 
> I've set up a [discord](https://discord.gg/4t3y25e) so feel free to join and stuff, I'm pretty active there these days.
> 
> Big thanks to [machiavellianFictionist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/machiavellianFictionist) for proofreading and being the best. Lots of thanks too to my lovely girlfriend [Ruby](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RubyAndNanaAO3) for beta reading and keeping my mood up.
> 
> Thank you too to my official supporters, send a PM or hop on the discord server for details.


	30. Chapter 30

“Are you sure you’re okay with this, Chlo?” Marinette asked for what must have been the dozenth time as the couple sat waiting in the Trocadéro.

“Yes, I’m fine, Mari.” Chloé answered with a small eye roll. “It’s just a couple friends going out and getting ice cream together, just gals being pals.” Marinette snorted in amusement at Chloé’s comment and nudged her with an elbow.

“Okay, fine, if you say so. I just thought you might be more wary of us being seen in public together.”

“It’ll be fine, just so long as we don’t kiss, hug, hold hands or do anything that could remotely be construed as romantic.” Chloé reeled off before giving Marinette a shrewd look. “Were you planning on doing any of those things?”

“No, I was not.” Marinette pouted at Chloé. “I don’t want to get outed just as much as you do. But we’re going to see André, it’s inherently romantic.”

“He doesn’t just sell ice cream to couples though, does he? You told me you went on your own before.”

“I did, but that didn’t go very well and he got akumatized.” Marinette reminded Chloé who simply sighed.

“Then we don’t piss him off and we’ll be fine. We’re just two girls looking for love separately.” Chloé grinned in triumph, but Marinette still looked sceptical.

“If you say so…” Marinette did not look particularly convinced and she checked her phone. “Where are Kagami and Adrienne? They were supposed to be here ten minutes ago, and I thought Kagami was keeping Adrienne on time.”

“I don’t know, but this is pretty normal for Adrienne.” Chloé sighed, shaking her head in mild exasperation.

“You keep surprising me today.” Marinette giggled, reaching out to poke Chloé in the cheek. “First you want to go out in public with me and now you’re okay with your schedule being messed with.”

“But it hasn’t been. I have always given Adrienne extra time because she’s always late.” Chloé pointed out with a smug smile. “So my schedule remains unaffected.”

“Is that so?” Marinette smiled and Chloé was very tempted to kiss her, even though they were in public. “I’m happy that there’s still ways you surprise me. Makes things interesting.”

“Well, I’m glad I still interest you, then.” Chloé snickered, looking around as well in the hopes of spotting Adrienne and Kagami approaching. “I’d hate for you to think I’m boring.”

“I’d never think you’re boring, Chlo.” Marinette simpered, looking around quickly before lacing her fingers into Chloé’s. “I love you too much for that.”

“Love you too.” Chloé sighed happily, about to lean in to rest her head on Marinette’s shoulder when she spotted Adrienne and Kagami approaching, but they weren’t alone. Squeaking in fear, Chloé quickly pulled her hand away and slid along the bench to put a respectable distance between herself and Marinette.

“Hi, sorry we’re late, but we got caught up talking to these two.” Adrienne apologised, gesturing to Rose and Juleka, who raised their hands in greeting. “When they found out we were going to see André, they asked to come along.”

“We’ve been looking for him ever since we got together. Isn’t it just romantic, sharing an ice cream with your love and having it magically confirmed?” Rose sighed, a lovestruck look upon her face as she gazed adoringly up at Juleka. “This is just going to be great!”

“Yeah, great…” Chloé groaned, shooting Adrienne a sharp look. This was supposed to be an excursion for just the four of them. Not quite a double date, since Adrienne and Kagami insisted that they weren’t dating, but it’d have been a chance for them to not have to keep pretending like they did normally.

“Exactly! The more the merrier!” Adrienne beamed, evidently not noticing Chloé’s irritation. “We should probably get going to find André though. Does anyone actually know where he is?”

Chloé let out a deep and disappointed sigh. “You really think I would have suggested this excursion if I didn’t know where he was going to be?” She raised an eyebrow at Adrienne, who shrugged a little sheepishly. “Over the last several months I have been tracking his movements and have worked out that he does actually have a pattern for where he goes on each day. It’s not random.”

“You spent months on this?” Juleka asked, and Chloé couldn’t tell if the tall girl was impressed or disturbed by this.

“I had to make sure my hypothesis was correct.” Chloé pointed out, pulling out her phone and opening up her notes. “On days that are a prime number, he’s on Pont des Arts in the morning, then he moves to Champs de Mars in the afternoon. On days with exactly four factors, he can be found along the Canal Saint-Martin  _ unless _ it’s an even numbered month, in which case he’s found near the Louvre, though his exact location varies. On-.”

“Can you just tell us where he is today, Chlo?” Marinette asked kindly, and Chloé looked up from her notes to see the others looking more than a little exasperated with her long explanation.

“Fine, he’s here.” She grumbled, pocketing her phone. “On this particular day, he wanders the Jardins du Trocadéro. Why do you think I asked you to meet here?”

“Thank you for working that all out for us, Chloé.” Kagami thanked her with a small smile. “So we just have to walk around the gardens until we find him?”

“Pretty much. I was unable to work out an exact route for him on these days. Perhaps if I had the time to follow him, I could work it out…” Chloé mused to herself, already working out the best ways to tail the ice cream vendor and how many people she’d need to ensure he didn’t realise he was being followed.

“You’ve done more than enough, Chlo.” Marinette told her hastily, getting up from the bench and offering Chloé a hand, which she accepted.

“Okay, fine.” Chloé grumbled a little as Adrienne and Kagami led the way into the jardins proper, Rose and Juleka linking arms and following after the two whilst Chloé and Marinete took up the rear.

“I’m sorry I cut you off just then.” Marinette apologised quietly to Chloé.

“It’s fine, I know I can get kind of obsessive sometimes. I need to work on not doing that.” Chloé brushed off the apology, though she did still feel a little disappointed that none of the others were interested in the work she’d put in to work out André’s schedule.

“No, you don’t need to. It’s cute when you talk about things you’re passionate about.” Marinette insisted with a small smile. “If you want, later on you can tell me all about the extensive research you did.”

“Are you sure?” Chloé raised an eyebrow at her girlfriend.

“Of course, I love hearing you talk, and you do the same for me when I start rambling about fashion design stuff.” Marinette smiled warmly at Chloé, but stopped a moment later. “I really wish I could kiss you right now.”

Glancing around to check that nobody was paying too much attention to them, Chloé steeled her nerves and pressed a quick kiss to Marinette’s cheek. It was fine, just gals being pals and all, nobody would think they were a couple just from just that.

“Me too.” She whispered after she pulled back. “Is it weird that I sometimes just want you all to myself and wish we’d never have to leave the hotel and we could just stay with each other forever?”

“Not really, I think I’d like that too.” Marinette sighed and nudged up against Chloé. “But we can’t, and I bet we’d eventually start getting on each other’s nerves.”

“I don’t think I could ever be angry at you, Mari.” Marinette didn’t look so convinced by Chloé’s assertion.

“You used to idolise Ladybug and now she’s not exactly your favourite person, is she?” Marinette frowned a little. “I don’t want you to be angry at me or anything. I just think maybe you shouldn’t make sweeping statements like that.”

“What is it you two are muttering about back there?” Both Chloé and Marinette jumped and looked to the front guiltily to see the other four all staring at them with varying degrees of amusement on their faces.

“Leave them be, Jules, we used to be like that back when we first started dating.” Rose sighed happily, clinging even closer onto Juleka’s arm.

“Marinette and I are not dating!” Chloé spat quickly, pulling away from her secret girlfriend and trying not to show just how much Marinette’s momentary hurt affected her. “We’re just friends, best friends, even.”

“Of course you are.” Juleka did not sound all that convinced, but she let it go, and the six continued to wander through the gardens in search of André. After a couple of minutes of silent walking, Chloé broke the silence.

“So, how long have you two been dating?” She asked Rose and Juleka tentatively, and the two conferred for a moment.

“Since last… August, I think.” Juleka answered after a bit and Rose nodded in agreement.

“Close to the beginning.” She added with a giggle. “Neither of us are that good with dates, so of course we forgot our own anniversary.”

“Not that it really matters since we’d been pretty much dancing around it for years.” Juleka shrugged, leaning down to press a kiss to the top of Rose’s head whilst Chloé felt a small spike of jealousy for how easily the couple could show affection for one another. “Rose has always been my princess.”

“Jules, you’re embarrassing me.” Rose whined as she blushed furiously, jabbing Juleka repeatedly in the arm. “Don’t say stuff like that.”

“But it’s the truth. Are you suggesting I lie?” Juleka pouted playfully. Chloé was wondering just how saccharine the two could get, but she was thankfully saved from finding out by an excited cry from Adrienne.

“There he is!” She pointed excitedly across some hedges and a lawn at the ice cream cart manned by André, the man’s singing faintly drifting over to them. The six eagerly rushed along the path to the ice cream vendor, coming to a halt just behind a couple he was just finishing serving.

“Juleka, Rose, why don’t you go first?” Adrienne stepped aside and gave the couple a gentle nudge to the front of their group as the couple ahead of them received their ice cream and bade the jovial man farewell.

“Ah, good morning!” André beamed at Rose and Juleka as they stepped up and handed over their money. “I don’t think I have seen you two before, and André never forgets a face!” The two nodded as he turned to his ice cream cart and busied himself with scooping out some ice cream. “Strawberry, blackberry and a twist of raspberry for you.” He sang as he put the finishing touches on the ice cream and handed it over to Juleka, who thanked him, and the two stepped away to share it, leaving the other four standing a little awkwardly before André.

“Ah, Marinette! Come back for more of André’s magical ice cream?” He boomed, grinning down at Marinette. “Did the last one succeed in bringing your love to you?”

“No, not yet, but that’s why I’m here again.” Marinette smiled back, but André’s brow furrowed and he looked between her, Chloé and Adrienne. “Um, I’m sorry?” Marinette cast a nervous glance at Chloé, who shrugged. She felt immensely relieved when the ice cream man’s frown changed back into a bright smile and he laughed loudly.

“Oh, I see now how it is!” Before any of them could speak, he was already starting to scoop ice cream out of his cart, humming to himself as he did so.

“Um, excuse me, but what?” Chloé asked the man and he laughed again.

“Some loves are not forever, no matter how much I wish they could be. But! Just as often, if not more so, it changes into something else!” He answered, grabbing a couple of spoons and placing them into the top scoop of ice cream. “And André is here for all loves, even if you cannot share it with the world.”

Chloé shot Marinette a look. This was sounding far far too close for comfort to what was going on between her and Marinette. “What is it?” Marinette asked, not noticing Chloé’s expression.

“Honey for her golden locks and blue raspberry for her eyes.” Definitely too close, as Marinette finally seemed to catch on and looked around to make sure nobody other than Adrienne and Kagami were in earshot. Blushing furiously, she took the ice cream and scurried off whilst André turned his attention to Chloé.

“And for you my dear, a special one!” He reached into his cart once more and Chloé wondered just how he was able to fit that many different flavours of ice cream into a single cart. “Chocolate chip cherry with a scoop of blueberry and of blackberry. Enjoy!” He held out the cone which Chloé took mutely and nodded her thanks before rushing over to Marinette and the other two whilst Adrienne and Kagami got their ice creams.

“Ooh, what did you get, Chloé?” Rose asked excitedly, peering at the tower of ice cream whilst Juleka dabbed at the stains around her girlfriend’s mouth.

“Chocolate chip cherry, blueberry and blackberry.” She reeled off, still mortified that she and Marinette were apparently so easy to see through by a total stranger.

“I wonder what that means.” Rose chirped, practically vibrating with excitement. “They say André is never wrong about predicting who your love is.”

“Rose, I love you, but really?” Juleka rolled her eyes, finishing dabbing at Rose’s mouth and rolling her eyes at her girlfriend. “Is it not painfully obvious?” Chloé resisted the urge to go find a well to hide in for the rest of her life as Rose gave Juleka a wide-eyed innocent look.

“No? What’s obvious?”

“Honey, blue raspberry.” Juleka pointed from Chloé’s hair to her eyes then to Marinette’s. “Blackberry, blueberry.”

“Then what’s the chocolate chip cherry?” Rose asked innocently and Juleka faltered for a moment before shrugged.

“I don’t know, but come on, these two are obviously into one another.” Juleka took a victorious scoop of her ice cream as Chloé protested.

“I told you before that we’re not dating.” Juleka gave Chloé a pitying look.

“Even if I believed that, I can still tell you’re smitten with Marinette. And before you try to protest that you’re not gay, you’re a girl in our class.” Chloé and Marinette exchanged confused glances at this seeming non-sequitur.

“Jules, not every girl in our class likes girls.” Rose said in a reprimanding tone and Juleka snorted.

“Name one straight girl in our class then.”

“Mylène.”

“Okay fine, that’s one.” Juleka admitted. “I’m still right about these two, though.” Before Chloé and Marinette could continue their denials, Adrienne and Kagami finally arrived with their own ice creams.

“Ooh, what did you two get?” Rose asked the newcomers, thankfully derailing the previous topic.

“Lemon, peach and matcha.” Kagami answered simply, licking at the ice cream. “I hope he didn’t give me the matcha just because I’m Japanese.”

“I doubt that. Besides, the flavours are supposed to reflect your love, not you.” Juleka muttered and it took a moment for Chloé to realise that her gaze was fixed on Adrienne’s eyes. “What about you Adrien?”

“Caramel chocolate and blackberry. It’s pretty good, though it’s not what I got last time.” She replied, sitting down on a nearby bench to enjoy her ice cream.

“I didn’t know you’d seen André before.” Marinette gave Adrienne a curious look. “What did you get?”

“It was pretty much the same as what Chloé’s got.” Adrienne inclined her head towards the blonde. “But I think it was strawberry, not cherry.” Chloé felt an uncomfortable twisting sensation in her stomach at the small revelation, and she looked over to Marinette, wondering if she too had picked up on the implication.

“Oh, that’s interesting!” Marinette’s voice was a little too loud and her smile a little too fixed. It was all Chloé needed to see.

“I’m just going to stretch my legs for a bit.” She said shortly, getting to her feet and walking away from the others. Her grip was so tight on her ice cream cone, she was surprised it didn’t shatter. She didn’t get very far though before someone caught up with her.

“Chlo, wait!” Chloé paused in her stalking to allow Marinette to catch up with her.

“Why are you following me, why don’t you go back and be with Adrienne?” Chloé snapped, hurt clawing at her insides. “Obviously she liked you before, you just didn’t know that your feelings were returned, and I was just a second choice.”

“Never.” Marinette insisted with a dark frown. “You were never my second choice.”

“Don’t lie to me, Marinette, I feel bad enough already.” Chloé sniffed, all her old hurts and insecurities bobbing up. “Besides, you deserve to be with someone better than me, someone who didn’t torment you for years and make your life a living hell.”

“Chloé, stop saying stuff like that.” Marinette stepped forward and rested her head against Chloé’s, and though the blonde knew she should pull away, she craved the contact with Marinette more. “You are more than good enough for me.”

Chloé’s eyes flickered away from Marinette’s, unable to meet her gaze. “I know I’m not though. I’m not a good person, not even Ladybug trusts me. I don’t deserve you.”

“Chloé, this isn’t like you.” Marinette said firmly. “You’re good and clever and brave and I love  _ you _ , not Adrienne.”

“But the ice cream…”

“Is different now, as is Adrienne’s.” Marinette pointed out, pulling back and gesturing with said ice cream. “I don’t like her like that anymore, only you.”

“If you say so…” Chloé wasn’t completely convinced. If Marinette had fallen out of love with Adrienne, what was stopping her from doing the same with her and leaving, just like mother had?

“I do.” Reaching out, Marinette took Chloé’s free hand and brought it up to her mouth to press a gentle kiss to her knuckles. “We should head back to the others.”

“Okay.” Fingers still intertwined, the couple started back to where they’d left the others. “Can I have a taste of your ice cream?”

“Only if I can taste yours.” Marinette broke into a bright smile before opening her mouth expectantly. Rolling her eyes, Chloé brought her ice cream up for Marinette to lick. “Mmm, it’s good. Now your turn.”

Marinette raised her cone up for Chloé to take an obliging lick. The honey worked rather well with the slight sharpness of the raspberry. “Definitely worth all the work to find out where he’d be.” Chloé said with an approving nod. “Now I have to work out how he fits all those different flavours into his cart.”

“Chloé…” Marinette giggled, shaking her head. “You’ll ruin the magic if you look too closely.”

“But-.”

“No buts, just enjoy it for what it is, Chlo.” Marinette reprimanded with another giggle as she reached up and booped Chloé’s nose with her ice cream. Rolling her eyes in amusement, Chloé left the small stain on her nose as she decided to take Marinette’s advice. She wished that she could stay like this with Marinette forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a smidge more fluff and some ice cream whilst Chloé and Marinette are awful at hiding their relationship from others. Poor Chloé, all those insecurities, be a shame if something were to happen that would seriously damage how she views Marinette and thus validate those insecurities. Well, hopefully that'll never happen.
> 
> I've set up a [discord](https://discord.gg/4t3y25e) so feel free to join and stuff, I'm pretty active there these days.
> 
> Big thanks to [machiavellianFictionist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/machiavellianFictionist) for proofreading and being the best. Lots of thanks too to my lovely girlfriend [Ruby](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RubyAndNanaAO3) for beta reading and keeping my mood up.
> 
> Thank you too to my official supporters, send a PM or hop on the discord server for details.


	31. Chapter 31

“Why do I have to study literature?” Chloé wailed dramatically, flopping across Marinette’s lap and looking up at her piteously. “And why do there have to be tests on it? How do you even accurately grade something that’s supposed to be subjective?”

“I don’t know, but I’m sure Mme Bustier knows what she’s doing.” Marinette patted Chloé’s head distractedly as she continued to revise and write her notes with her free hand. “And you really should keep working, it is one of your worst subjects.”

“Because I don’t care about it. It’s silly.” Chloé pouted, folding her arms awkwardly. “Just let me study the sciences and stuff. I’ll be perfectly happy.”

“It’s supposed to help you become a better rounded individual, Chlo. Help you learn to evaluate things that don’t always have a single right answer.” Marinette gave Chloé a small shove and the blonde reluctantly sat upright, though she continued to pout as she picked up her pen and continued to make her notes on the text.

“I still reserve the right to think that it’s silly.” She insisted, and Marinette giggled.

“That is your prerogative.” Shaking her head, Marinette smiled over at Chloé. “I’m proud of you, you know. You’ve grown so much since even the start of the school year.”

“Only because you helped me.” Chloé deflected instinctively, her cheeks heating up a little at the praise. “I wouldn’t be nearly this good if you didn’t have faith in me.”

“Give yourself some credit, Chlo, you’re a lot better than you think you are.”

“Again, only because you believe in me.” Chloé’s small smile soured a little. “I used to think Ladybug did too, but then she took away my Miraculous and kept passing me over in favour of other people.” There was a bitter taste in Chloé’s mouth as she remembered a couple of days before, when yet another Miraculous wielder joined the fray alongside several others, all whilst Chloé had watched it on the news and fumed silently.

“I’m sure she must have good reasons, and that she still believes in you.” Marinette tried to defend the hero, looking oddly stricken by Chloé’s declaration.

“She doesn’t do a very good job of showing it.” Chloé grumbled. “It doesn’t matter anyway. I don’t need her, I’ve got you.”

“Yeah, I suppose…” Chloé could have sworn she heard some hesitation in Marinette’s voice, but she dismissed it as her imagination. She was already feeling bad about Ladybug, she was just looking for something else to be negative about. Shaking her head, Chloé got back to work. The test was tomorrow and Chloé didn’t want to disappoint Marinette, especially not when she’d been promised kisses if she did well.

* * *

The test was quite frankly, brutal, but Chloé was reasonably sure she’d done well enough to earn a few kisses. Lunch was ending soon and they’d be getting the marked tests back in a bit and she could cash in her kisses after school.

“Hey, Chlo, do you remember where I put my bag?” Marinette asked as they walked from the lunchroom towards the stairs up to their classroom.

“You left it in the locker room, remember?” Chloé shook her head. “You are so scatterbrained sometimes, I swear…”

“I have a lot on my mind.” Marinette protested, though she grinned a little. “And I’m a lot better now than I used to be.”

“That is true. You’d have lost your head if it wasn’t attached to your shoulders.” Marinette gave Chloé a playful shove as they detoured briefly into the locker room to pick up Marinette’s things before continuing on their way up to the classroom.

Sliding into their seats, they waited as the rest of the class filed in, and eventually Mme Bustier entered, carrying a stack of papers and looking unhappy.

“I’ve graded the papers and most of you have done very well.” She announced to the class looking over them all, her eyes lingering for a moment on Marinette. “Before I hand the papers back out though, Marinette, could you bring your school bag up to the front please?”

Exchanging a worried look with Chloé, Marinette slowly got to her feet and brought her bag up to the front. Without a word, Mme Bustier opened it and began rifling through. “Um, Mme, I’m not sure you’re allowed to do that.” Marinette ventured but she was ignored as the teacher finally pulled a sheet out of Marinette’s bag.

“I got an anonymous note earlier today claiming that you’d cheated on the test and stolen the answers, and it looks like they were right.” There was a collective gasp from the class, except for Chloé, who jumped to her feet.

“That’s bullshit!” She shrieked, preparing to march up to the front and give Mme Bustier a piece of her mind.

“Sit down, Miss Bourgeois.” The teacher told Chloé firmly before returning her attention to Marinette. “Well, Marinette?”

“It’s not true! Someone must have planted that in my bag.” Marinette explained frantically, clearly horrified by getting called out in front of the entire class like this.

“Marinette didn’t have her bag at lunchtime, someone could have easily put it in there. And if she was going to cheat, why would she be idiotic enough to leave evidence there?” Chloé called out again, unwilling to be silenced when her girlfriend was in trouble.

“Please be quiet, Miss Bourgeois” Mme Bustier gave Chloé a sharp look. “And you got every question on the test correct.”

“Because I studied.” Marinette looked to be on the verge of tears as Alix piped up.

“Marinette does usually score highly on your tests.” She pointed out to the teacher, and she opened her mouth to continue, but Lila cut in over her.

“This is so unlike you, Marinette, you’re normally so well-behaved!” Both Chloé and Marinette turned their attention to the lying snake, who was trying and failing not to look smug at what was happening.

“It was you, wasn’t it!” Marinette pointed a finger at Lila. “You planted the paper in my bag and then tipped off Madame.”

“What?!” Lila looked aghast, raising a hand to her chest. “I just came to your defence and now you’re accusing me?”

“You can’t just accuse people without proof, Marinette.” Mme Bustier said, and Chloé whirled back on the teacher.

“You mean like how you just took an anonymous tip to search through her bag?”

“That was to obtain proof.” Mme Bustier defended herself, but Chloé just rolled her eyes.

“Okay, then here’s my proof, if Marinette was cheating, how come I didn’t get a perfect score? We’ve been studying together for months, including last night for this test. You really think she’d cheat that blatantly and without me?”

“Are we really going to trust the word of Chloé Bourgeois?” Lila asked the class clearly looking for sympathy.

“I might be a bitch, but at least I tell the truth.” Chloé fired back, keeping the part where she was secretly a lesbian to herself.

“Okay, that’s enough!” Mme Bustier clapped her hands loudly to silence the argument. “Marinette, Lila, both of you go to the principal’s office.” She instructed and the two headed for the classroom door. Chloé made to follow but Mme Bustier held up a hand. “You stay right where you are, Chloé. Mr Damocles will sort this out.”

Huffing angrily, Chloé sat back down in her seat. Folding her arms, she glowered at the teacher mutinously. Mme Bustier handed out the tests and tried to go over the answers with the class, but it was clear that nobody was really paying attention.

About fifteen minutes of the lesson passed with Mme Bustier desperately trying to engage her students. She was just about to go through the final question when there was a commotion outside and everyone’s attention was drawn to the small parade of people walking past the window.

The party was led by Mr Damocles and Lila, with Marinette and her parents following along behind and looking very concerned. Ignoring Mme Bustier’s calls for her to sit down, Chloé got out of her seat and stormed off after the group, catching up to them quickly.

“Mari, what’s going on?” She hissed to her girlfriend, who jumped and spun around to look at Chloé.

“Chlo! It’s Lila, she told Mr Damocles I pushed her down the stairs and now she says she has proof that I stole her grandmother’s fox pendant or something.” Marinette explained, looking distraught.

“Pushed her down the…?” Chloé looked incredulously at Lila, who only appeared to be a little dusty and had no signs of injury. “She hasn’t got a scratch on her! And Damocles bought that shit?!”

“Chloé, language.” Sabine chided, though she too looked angry at the whole proceedings. “But yes, this is ridiculous.”

By the time they’d gotten to the bottom of the stairs, they’d been joined by the rest of the class as they entered the locker room. Mr Damocles either didn’t notice or care about the audience as he stood in front of Marinette’s locker.

“Open it, please, Miss Dupain-Cheng.” He instructed, and Marinette reluctantly did so, head hung in embarrassment at having all her peers watching and opened the locker. Something small and orange fell out and Lila pounced upon it with a cry.

“My grandma’s pendant!” She scooped it up and glared at Marinette, who was stunned by this development.

“No no no! I didn’t do anything!” She protested, looking around wildly as all eyes were on her. “She’s making it up, I swear!”

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng, I’m afraid in light of these incidents I must expel you from this school.” Mr Damocles proclaimed to the entire room and there was a collective gasp from all the onlookers.

“Oh no, you do not just do that!” Chloé spat, recovering from her shock and getting right up in Mr Damocles face. “You’re seriously expelling Marinette with only a few supposed misdemeanours  _ in front of her entire class _ ?”

“I… um.” Mr Damocles stammered, clearly having not thought this through. “Well…”

“And I’m fairly certain an expulsion requires more than just a cursory investigation of wrongdoing. This is a very serious punishment, after all.” Chloé ploughed on, continuing to lambast the principal. As she drew breath to launch into another tirade, she caught a flash of red out of the corner of her eye and she turned to look.

Red butterflies, what looked like hundreds of them, were swarming into the locker room, and Chloé’s heart froze. It was just like Heroes’ Day all over again. Ducking down, Chloé ran for Marinette and grabbed her, trying to pull her to the other door to escape. She could hear the sounds of other people trying to flee and getting caught and akumatized, but all Chloé cared about was keeping her girlfriend safe.

She only made it a few paces before she came to an abrupt halt as Marinette stopped dead. Releasing Marinette’s wrist, Chloé turned to look at her girlfriend and her stomach dropped. Marinette’s eyes had darkened and the familiar wire butterfly mask hovered in front of her face as she was almost certainly given Hawkmoth’s spiel.

“Marinette, you can fight it, I believe in you.” Chloé begged, reaching out to take her hands. “I managed to resist his control, you can too.” Chloé thought she saw a flicker of something in Marinette’s eyes, and for a moment she was sure Marinette had done it. But instead, she tugged her hands free of Chloé’s and reached up to her ears.

“Yes, Scarlet Moth, I shall bring you Ladybug’s Miraculous.” As Marinette spoke, she brushed her hair out of the way and made to remove her earrings of all things.

Just as she was about to remove the first of her earrings, the butterfly mask vanished and the dark look in Marinette’s eyes faded. Looking around the room, it seemed that everyone else had returned to normal and Chloé breathed a sigh of relief.

“Chlo? What happened?” Marinette shook her head as if in a daze.

“You nearly got akumatized, Mari.” Chloé explained. Marinette’s confused expression turned into one of horror and her hands immediately flew up to her ears.

“Oh God! I didn’t do anything did I?” She asked in a panic, though she seemed to relax after a moment and lowered her hands.

“No, thankfully, I don’t know what happened, but it just stopped.” Chloé peered down at Marinette curiously. “Are you sure you’re okay, you seemed very worried about something.”

“No, I’m fine. Just… that was my first time getting akumatized. It was terrifying.”

“It can be…” Chloé was still more than a little curious about Marinette’s odd behaviour. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but it felt like there was something Marinette was hiding from her.

Before she could ask any more questions, however, Mr Damocles regained control of the room. “Miss Dupain-Cheng, if you would kindly clear out your locker and collect your things.”

“Are you serious? You’re still just kicking her out?” Chloé fumed, but Mr Damocles stared her down with a surprising amount of resolve.

“You do not tell me how to run my school, Miss Bourgeois. Now, would all students please return to their lessons. Now.” Chloé wanted to keep arguing, but a hand on her shoulder from Mrs Dupain-Cheng warned her not to get herself into any trouble.

“We’ll fight this, don’t worry, Chloé.” She reassured the girl, who nodded reluctantly before leaving the locker room with the rest of her class, shooting Marinette one last mournful look. She should be feeling bad about Marinette’s expulsion and trying to work out ways to get the expulsion undone, but for some reason, her mind was still just fixated upon Marinette’s weird fixation on her ears and earrings.

Chloé sat back down at her desk and proceeded to ignore Mme Bustier as she restarted the lesson. Chloé drummed her fingers on the table as she turned over what had just happened in her head. Marinette had been akumatized, and before she transformed, she’d tried to remove her earrings. Then, after she’d been released, her first concern was her earrings again.

Chloé knew they were special, Marinette never removed them and Chloé had assumed they were a family heirloom or something. But something about her taking them off confused her. It was like she had all the pieces and they just weren’t fitting together, and it frustrated Chloé no end when that happened.

Chloé had heard Hawkmoth’s speech three times by now, and she had a good memory for pompous supervillains giving her their spiel. Right at the end of the little speech, Hawkmoth would always set the terms of the ‘partnership’ about how he wanted the Miraculous in exchange for his aid. That would have been when Marinette tried to take out her earrings, in fact she’d said something about the Miraculous as she did so.

Come to think of it, weren’t the Miraculous normally jewellery? Something about Hawkmoth’s mental link provided his akumas with what their targets looked like, the ring of the black cat and…

Chloé sat bolt upright as the final piece clicked into place for her. But it couldn’t be true, it really just couldn’t. It was too unreasonable. There was no way Marinette, the girl she loved and who supported and believed in her was Ladybug, her former idol who no longer trusted her. There was no way they were the same person, right?

* * *

Chloé’s living room was a mess. The moment she got to her room after school, she’d ordered a large whiteboard to be brought up from one of the hotel’s conference rooms and had been covering it with pictures and notes for the last hour. Her floor was a mess of papers, and somewhere along the way, she’d ended up with a long red string.

Front and centre on the board were two headshots that she was currently staring at, one of Ladybug and the other of Marinette. She kept looking between them, trying to work out if they were the same person. The two looked similar, they even had the same hairstyle, but there was just something off between the two pictures that made her think that they weren’t the same person.

Frustrated by the pictures, Chloé returned to the schedules she’d drawn up of all the akuma attacks and Marinette’s presence during them. As she did so, her phone buzzed for possibly the hundredth time since she’d got back, but she ignored it. She had more important things to deal with.

It was a little hard to account for Marinette’s presence during various akuma attacks, but through careful combing through hours of video footage, Chloé was certain that Ladybug and Marinette were never seen together. Now, that wasn’t in itself all that suspicious. Paris had a massive population, there were certainly hundreds if not thousands of people who had never been seen together with Ladybug.

But even if one single piece of evidence wasn’t conclusive, they all started to form a picture. The similarity in looks between Marinette and Ladybug, Marinette’s convenient absences during attacks and the thing with her earrings. The evidence was slowly becoming insurmountable, but Chloé still didn’t want to believe it.

Groaning loudly, Chloé sifted through her printed-out papers, ignoring her phone as it buzzed again, as she looked for anything else that would prove one way or the other. After a couple of minutes, Chloé laid eyes on her most recent photo of Marinette. They’d taken it the day they’d gotten ice creams, so it was a group shot, the six of them clutching their ice creams and looking very pleased with themselves.

As she looked at the picture, Chloé’s eyes were drawn to her ice cream. Most of it had been eaten by that point, but that final scoop of Cherry Chocolate Chip was still there, bright red and spotted with little bits of black…

No

Nonononono, it was too ridiculous and outlandish, and if nothing else, it had to mean André knew more than he let on as well. But what else could that scoop of red with the black spots mean? Chloé wracked her brain for what André had said that day about the meaning of the ice cream, but she was drawing a blank.

Hold on, hadn’t Adrienne said she’d gotten pretty much the same as Chloé had last time she’d gone to see the ice cream vendor? Tossing the photo aside, Chloé dove for her phone. Unlocking it, she saw that she had at least a dozen texts from Marinette, and missed calls from her as well. But she was a girl on a mission. Flicking through her contacts, Chloé stabbed the call button on Adrienne’s number and waited impatiently for her to pick up.

“Come on, Adrienne.” She hissed to herself, listening to the phone ring. Eventually it was answered and a tired voice answered.

“Chloé? Why are you calling me? Shouldn’t you be with Marinette right now?”

“I’m busy, and it’s important.” Chloé snapped out, starting to pace restlessly around the room. “I need to ask you about André.”

“The ice cream guy?” Adrienne sounded deeply confused by this. “Are you sure this is more important than your girlfriend who just got expelled?”

“Yes it is.” Chloé insisted, she was not going to let this one go. “You said that you’d gotten almost the same ice cream as me last time?” The was a reluctant sigh and noise of affirmative. “Were you ever into Marinette back then?”

“... Is this some kind of territorial thing?” Adrienne asked, completely bewildered. “Making sure I won’t steal your girlfriend or something?”

“No, just answer the question, please.” Chloé nearly begged, almost hoping that he would say yes and this was all some strange coincidence.

“No, I never liked Marinette like that. I was always into Ladybug.” A heavy weight dropped into Chloé’s stomach.

“Thanks, Adrienne.” She mumbled and ended the call before her friend could reply. Her head was a swirling mess as she tossed her phone to one side and she collapsed onto her sofa.

Marinette was Ladybug and Ladybug was Marinette. There was no other explanation.

All this time Chloé had thought she was the Akiko in their relationship, the secret hero, or not-so-secret in her own case, whilst Marinette was the nice and normal Mariko, the dependent best friend. Turns out she got it completely the wrong way round.

She felt oddly giddy. She’d worked out who Ladybug was after other people had spent years trying to work it out. The hero of Paris was her girlfriend. The hero who no longer trusted her…

The strangely manic edge to her mood suddenly soured as she realised the full implications. Marinette was Ladybug, and Ladybug didn’t trust her. Therefore, Marinette didn’t trust her. But Marinette said that  _ she  _ did, ergo, Marinette was lying.

All this time, Chloé had been pouring out her heart and soul to Marinette, trusted and loved her and it turned out it was all just an act. Did she even care about her? Or was it just a way for her to keep an eye on her because she didn’t trust her anymore? Chloé didn’t know. All she did know was that their relationship was nothing but a sham.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so, things start to fall apart. We knew something like this was coming, we'll just have to see exactly how badly it's going to go. There really was no chance of things going well though, not after everything that Chloé's been through with Ladybug. I do warn you, the next couple of chapters aren't going to be happy.
> 
> I've set up a [discord](https://discord.gg/4t3y25e) so feel free to join and stuff, I'm pretty active there these days.
> 
> Big thanks to [machiavellianFictionist](https://archiveofourown.org/users/machiavellianFictionist) for proofreading and being hella cute. Lots of thanks too to my lovely girlfriend [Ruby](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RubyAndNanaAO3) for beta reading.
> 
> Thank you too to my official supporters, send a PM or hop on the discord server for details.


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